Chuck & Sarah vs Their Next Adventure
by MyNameIsJeffNImLost
Summary: Start with some romance, add some humor, mix in some action, insert plenty of returning guest stars, sprinkle in some more humor, and top it off with family fun time. Yes, it's another post-Goodbye fic, starting right after the fade to black. Part 1 & 2 are complete: "Sarah vs Her Home" and "Sarah vs the Buy More."
1. Just a little bit more

A/N: I normally don't write AUs, although I sometimes write stories I know will end up as AUs. A story after the Chuck finale should be safe, right? It was until Thinkling wrote her story.

Disclaimer: Nobody else owns anything here, so why would I?

Disclaimer 2: No beta. Why would I sucker/obligate/subject anyone into reading this when they didn't want to? However, if you PM me corrections, I'll fix them.

_Posted 08 Aug 2012  
_

* * *

_**Just a little bit more**_

_**Ten minutes after "Rivers and Roads" and the fade to black**_

* * *

Sarah reluctantly separated from Chucks lips, sliding past his cheek. "Let's go home, Chuck," she whispered in his ear.

"Not yet," Chuck replied. He pulled away, gazed into her eyes, and smiled before they brought their lips together once more.

After another minute Sarah ducked her head, breaking apart again. She pulled up the sleeve that was covering her left hand and twisted to reach into her pocket. Chuck held her back for balance, but looked at her with curiosity. She wordlessly passed what she found to the man next to her. He smiled his trademarked toothy grin and slipped the wedding ring set where it was supposed to go, on her uncovered left hand. He kissed the rings as Sarah raised her other hand to cup his jaw. Sarah withdrew the hand which now showed the evidence of their commitment, placed it on the other side of his jaw, and captured his lips once more.

* * *

A/N: Yes, it's short, but that's all some people needed. The rest of you can keep reading.

Expect 17-20 chapters in four parts with frequent updates, the rest longer than this one (not hard). Each of the story's four parts will have daily updates, but there may be non-cliffhanger pauses between the parts.


	2. The fallout

_Posted 09 Aug 2012_

* * *

_**Who knew one, ahem, kiss, would cause so many problems?**_

_**One hour later**_

* * *

"Patrolman Watson, what's the situation?" Captain Jacobs looked at the young beach patrol officer who was sitting on the ground wearing only one shoe. He sat on a parking wheel stop, head down almost between his knees. His left sneaker and sock had been removed, but there was no sign of blood or trauma. The senior officer sighed when he realized he wasn't getting an immediate answer. The patrolman looked up, wide-eyed and in shock. Jacobs might have felt sorry for him, if it weren't such a pathetic scene. Watson jerked his head suddenly and looked across the parking lot where several large vehicles were pulling in.

Jacobs was pleased with his team. The bomb squad bus had arrived, along with an ARV, a couple SUVs, and three more cruisers. A couple officers were setting up a command and control canopy. Another was setting up high flood lights because it would be getting dark soon. Others were securing the scene. Everyone seemed to be doing exactly what they should be doing. Whatever the threat, the presence of SWAT would make them think twice.

Sergeant Kingston, who had arrived at the scene with Jacobs in his police cruiser, finished his call to dispatch. He got out of the car and climbed up on the hood where he could get a better view down the shoreline, leaving his boss to question the tentative junior officer. Considering Kingston's smaller stature, he needed the extra height the car provided as a vantage point.

Something caught Watson's attention causing him to finally speak. "What's that guy wearing?" He was pointing to Officer Beane, dressed like a green Stay Puft Marshmallow man in full bomb disposal padding. Another officer was helping attach his helmet and blast shield.

"When you called for back-up, it sounded like there's a serious threat. That's why SWAT is here."

"Th-that explains the A-ARVs," Watson stuttered. Jacobs looked back at the vehicles. Watson was right. The other ARV had just arrived.

"So there's no bomb?" Jacobs asked, trying to remain calm.

Watson shook his head.

"What happened?"

Watson took another few seconds to collect himself. Meanwhile, the captain radioed the bomb squad to stand down. The rest of his team continued their work, though. The portable communications center should be up soon. Two officers were firing up the portable generator.

Fed up with the delay, Jacobs pressed, "Watson, I need to know what happened."

"I got a complaint from a mother with two small kids about a couple down there." He pointed past some tall palm trees towards the ocean. "Actually, the kids weren't that small, and probably had seen it all on cable. I doubt the mother uses that code to block channels. Too many parents don't monitor their kids like they should. Rating systems exist for a reason." He was losing focus, straying off topic, and rationalizing the unimportant details.

"Watson!"

"Right. Sorry, sir. So I went to check it out, and they were rather 'aggressive.'"

"He was assaulting her?"

Watson released an abrupt laugh. "I thought so, but when I got closer I could see the woman was on top. She might have been assaulting him, but he wasn't complaining."

"So all of this is just about two people having sex on a beach?" Jacob asked incredulously.

Watson paused a few more seconds. "They appeared to still be clothed, but their behavior was still pushing the bounds of what's acceptable in public. I tried to interrupt, but that's when she pulled a knife." He pointed to the knife on the ground a few yards away. It looked like an expensive throwing knife—something exotic with a switchblade trigger. "And she threw it at my foot." He pointed at his left black sneaker which upon closer inspection had a slice near the toecap. The throw must have been between Watson's toes. Jacobs couldn't help but be impressed at the precision of the throw while resting on a man's chest.

The officer continued, "I went to pull my Taser, but she already had another knife at the ready. The guy tried to stop her and told me to run away. I looked over my shoulder when I was a safe distance away to see if she was following me. They were going at it again."

Jacobs was trying his best not to judge. That would be for the post-incident report. For now he just needed more information. "Ok, I see you needed back-up, but why did you call for SWAT?"

"I just asked for backup. I wasn't expecting so many."

Jacobs tilted his head in sympathy, trying not to laugh. "Dispatch must have over-estimated your need based on your level of panic. We'll deal with that later, but don't be surprised if you're assigned some additional mandatory training." He know dispatch really screwed up this one, too. They might also need some training.

From the hood of a police cruiser next to them, Sergeant Kingston called down, "Sir, you should see this." The short man with a nasal voice was looking through binoculars down the beach in the direction Watson had pointed.

Jacobs turned from the inexperienced officer to his sergeant. "I don't need to see a peep show, Kingston."

Kingston continued looking through his binoculars, unfazed. Apparently, he was interested in the peep show. "I ran a check on the vehicles in this lot, and that Lotus is registered to Sarah Walker. And that," he paused to point where he was looking, "is Agent Walker. Officer Watson is lucky he got away."

"Who?" Jacobs climbed up on the hood, pulling out his own field glasses. Kingston was so focused on the scene, maybe the show was worth seeing.

"I heard she got married last year, to Agent Carmichael. Lucky guy."

The name Carmichael sounded familiar to Captain Jacobs. He spotted the couple going at it on the beach. They were still clothed from what he could tell, but otherwise weren't exactly decent. The guy looked like he was about to get lucky. Based on the timeline of when Watson called for back-up, though, they had to have been going at it for well over an hour. That's some kind of restraint. "Who are you talking about?" he asked.

"Remember a few years back, we captured that mercenary group on a rooftop downtown, led by that big guy? I think his name was Colt. It took us four guys to subdue him in lock-up."

Jacobs thought for a second and looked over at Kingston. "I think so. Didn't DHS take that group off our hands?"

"Yep. A few weeks later, there was that terrorist hit at the KFPW TV station." Kingston continued staring through his binoculars.

"I heard a black ops team stopped them." Jacobs found himself wishing his binoculars had more magnification, even though that felt wrong at some level.

"More like a one woman team named Agent Walker. Then there was the bio-conference incidence."

"Right. I remember. I was called in for that one. That was Agent Carmichael," Jacobs said with recognition in his voice. That's where he had heard the name.

"While he was creating the antidote, Agent Walker was capturing the terrorist who released the virus," the sergeant added. "Then there was the car that crashed into the Buy More at Christmas a few years back. Oh, and that toxic gas released at the museum."

"The two of them stopped all of that?" Jacobs looked back at the couple on the shoreline.

"I think a retired Marine Colonel rounded out their team. There's a rumor they broke him out of a maximum security stockade, but that sounded too 'A-Team' to me. Anyway, they're all retired from government work now. I heard that they quit after the Carmichaels married and started a private sector security company."

Something clicked. "Wait a second. Didn't some private security company stop that bomb threat at Pacific Concert Hall last night? Martinez's team took care of disposal. He said he has no idea how they disabled it. It was some sophisticated trigger system unlike anything he had ever seen, and the bomb had enough C-4 to blow the place sky high."

"Sounds like the type of miracle they routinely pulled off." Kingston was obviously a fan.

Jacobs made a decision. "Ok. Last night they saved hundreds of lives. I think they are entitled to a little privacy to celebrate." He reached out and touched Kingston's field glasses to get him to stop watching the intense 'activity' on the beach. "It's almost sunset. We're closing down the beach a few minutes early. Watson, head back to your precinct, Write up your incident report, and head home. Be honest. I'll talk to your captain about getting you a partner until you're ready to go solo again."

Watson nodded, put his open-toed shoe back on, and headed to help shutting down the beach. At least he had some self-respect and wasn't going to abandon his post. Jacobs could admire that.

One thing was certain. There was no way Jacobs could look the former CIA agents in the eye after seeing their show, even from a distance. Fortunately, as leader, he could delegate. "Kingston," he said.

"Yes sir?"

"Since you are such a fanboy, you can guard Agent Walker's car and make sure she gets her expensive looking knife back. I'll ride back on the bus." He leveled the most serious look he could at his sergeant, considering the absurdity of the situation. When he was certain he had Kingston's attention, he continued, "Please don't make a fool of yourself. LAPD hit its fool quota for the day."

"Sure thing, Captain. I'll try to keep from getting a knife in the shoe as well."

* * *

A/N: Where were Chuck and Sarah in this chapter, you ask? Maybe you need higher powered binoculars. Don't worry. The next several chapters are all about them. Blame this one on a conversation with Ernie from the ChuckThis blog. This idea's been around since the day after the finale aired.


	3. Must go faster

_Posted 10 Aug 2012_

* * *

_**They had to leave the beach sometime.**_

_**30 minutes later**_

* * *

Sarah let go of the gear shift after she popped into sixth, her hand immediately going back to Chuck's. It felt like it belonged there. Ever since they started on the beach, she couldn't stop touching him. Yet, she was still uncomfortable. Traffic was clear on the 10. They'd be home in a half hour—maybe sooner with Sarah's driving. _The faster the better._

She wanted to finish what they started on the beach. Actually, she wanted to finish back there, but Chuck kept swatting away her hands and insisting they wait until they get home. It was frustrating. He must have been really good at spy seduction—always leaving them wanting more. Then again, she wouldn't have been surprised if Chuck didn't have much of a chance to exercise that skill. She probably did everything in her power to keep him out of those situations. Growing up an only child, she didn't like to share.

She didn't like the idea of leaving the beach either, because it meant they would be touching less, as was the case right now. She was certain that getting home and finishing what they started would settle the queasiness in her gut. It had to.

Only Chuck's slightly moist hand was keeping her somewhat calm. Maybe some small talk could distract her. She was never one for small talk, but it was worth a try. "Chuck, how did you get to the beach? I was so happy when you got into my car that I think about you not having one."

Chuck rubbed his thumb along the back of his wife's hand. "I took a cab." It took a second for his response to register. Sarah felt like a cat wanting to purr at his touch.

"You took a cab to the beach, and you weren't even sure I was there?" So much for small talk. Showing that kind of confidence in where she would be was a sign he really knew her. Then again, they were—no—_are_ married. Of course he knew her. "If I wasn't there, were you going to run a search pattern in a taxi?"

"Ahmad seemed up for a scavenger hunt. I sure he would've appreciated the fare." Chuck raised Sarah's hand to his mouth and gave it a quick kiss.

Sarah couldn't remember anyone with that name except for Ahmad Tejan Kabbah, the President of Sierra Leone when she was there two—no—seven years ago. "Ahmad?"

"The cabbie."

"Oh." That made more sense. "Don't you have a car? I should know this, but I thought you had a car."

"I normally drive a Nerd Herder. It's a Toyota Matrix painted like a Tylenol Gel Cap."

"Oh, yeah. That blew up." Sarah didn't know why she said that.

"You remember that?"

"It did? I'm right?" Maybe her memory was coming back. She thought she remembered an explosion. Was Chuck in that explosion? No, he couldn't have been.

"Well, you're right that it blew up, but not recently. The current Nerd Herd #3 is getting stripped of the spy gadgets before returning it to Subway as part of their store purchase. The CIA didn't bother to clean it out after we bought the Buy More. I think Beckman thought we'd come back. When she found out we sold the store, she was probably a little concerned about the self-destruct and the RPG launcher being in the hands of sandwich makers. An accidental ejection on the freeway wouldn't be good either."

"Oh, so I wasn't right." Sarah was disappointed.

Chuck lifted their linked hands again, holding them to his chest. "Don't worry about it." Chuck was doing his best to sound comforting. It was sort of working, but not quite enough. "You remembered it blew up. That's something. It's going to come back."

"But that means the magic kiss didn't work."

"It was working pretty well for me." Sarah looked over at Chuck and saw a big toothy grin. She looked back at the road but couldn't prevent a twisted smile from forming. Sarah never really believed it would work. After hearing their overly romantic, epic story, she just wanted an excuse to kiss him. Chuck was still talking, "I barely got you off that beach without being arrested for indecent exposure and for assaulting a police officer with a deadly weapon."

Sarah rolled her eyes. If she really wanted to hurt him, he would have been limping home. "I mean my memories aren't back."

"This is a Morgan theory we're talking about. It's based on a lot of research with Disney princess movies watched with your niece." Sarah's eyes widened. She had a niece. And a sister-in-law she tried to kill. And a… what exactly was Morgan? Chuck continued, "Of course it wasn't going to work. But I figured what the heck. It was as good excuse as any to kiss you."

Sarah struggled to hold back her smile again. Chuck was looking for an excuse just like she was. She couldn't pass up the chance to tease him, wondering if she did that a lot. "So you mean you took advantage of my vulnerable state to kiss me?"

"You asked me to. And after that fourth or fifth kiss, you completely attacked me." Chuck sounded defensive, but with a hint of confidence as well.

"That wasn't attacking you," Sarah protested. "That was establishing control. _When_ I attack you, you'll know it."

"I remember." Chuck wagged his eyebrows at her, although she was forcing herself to stare at the road. This was not time to get into an accident because she couldn't think straight.

"It's not fair I don't remember."

"Sarah, Honey, you'll remember eventually."

"But what if I don't?"

"We'll have a lifetime to make new memories."

Sarah exhaled deeply. That idea was both terrifying and exhilarating.

"You remembered the beach. What else do you remember?" Chuck asked.

"I had flashes of images, memories I guess, as you told me our stories."

"Then I'm going to have to tell you a lot of stories. I'm chocked full of Chuck and Sarah stories. Anything else?"

"As we were kissing, I remembered kissing you a few time before. I think I was remembering a few things you liked."

"I suspected."

Sarah furrowed her brow. "You seemed to know everything I like."

"We didn't get quite that far, Honey."

Sarah squeezed his hand tightly, possessively. "Maybe we should pull over. I'm not sure I can last until we get home." _She_ wasn't the prude who had something against public indecency.

"I can tell. It's ok if you want to slow down. I'm not going anywhere."

"I'm not slowing down."

"The police might have something to say about it. The next cop might not be such a fan. You don't have the get-out-of-speed-trap-for-free badge anymore."

"I don't know what to do, Chuck. I almost took out that beach patrolman. The only reason I didn't was I doubted that's who your wife would be." Sarah pulled back her hand to downshift as she quickly passed a car on the right. Chuck gently covered her hand on the shifter for a second. Then he released it and moved to caress the back of her neck.

"Don't worry about it. My wife would have threatened him too, which is a good thing because you are my wife."

"Oh, really? I would have? Because you're so sweet, I thought I must have changed a lot for you to really fall for me."

Chuck laughed. "Are you kidding? I fell for you immediately. A few weeks ago, you might have hesitated before throwing, but that's 50-50 depending on your mood. From what you've told me, you fell for me right away, too."

"From what you've told me? What do you mean by that?"

"You told me you fell for me between when I fixed your intentionally busted CIA prop phone and before I disabled bombs with computer viruses."

"The Demova Virus."

"Right."

"The ballerina." That was another memory Sarah couldn't control. She didn't understand where they were coming from. They were just popping into her head. It was a little disconcerting, but at least it reaffirmed they were still there.

"No. She's a Serbian porn star."

"No, not her. The ballerina you helped, right after we met."

"What ballerina?"

"There was a little girl and her dad... I think he screwed up a recording or something..." Sarah hesitated unsure of the memory. Chuck patiently rubbed his thumb along the column of her neck. "You set up another performance in the store. You told her something to give her confidence, and her performance was on all the TVs in the store. It was... magical."

Chuck squeezed her neck a little bit. He had found another one of her spots. "I remember a little bit now. Wow, I had forgotten all about that. I guess it was overshadowed by meeting my future wife." Chuck dropped his hand and quickly squeezed Sarah's leg. Before she could protest, he moved back to her hand. With the hand gone, she now wanted it back on her neck—or her leg—or just closer. She needed to get home faster. "Hey, you remembered something I forgot. Is that when you fell in love with me?" Chuck asked.

"I don't know. Don't you know?"

"You weren't really allowed to tell me how you felt back then. I was still an asset without the skills of the 2.0 or your training."

"Maybe I didn't know at the time either." _That's what the mission logs seemed to indicate._ "I just remember that girl looked scared, and you were great with her." Sarah exhaled deeply. "Not that we are going to have kids," she mumbled.

"Actually..."

"You're kidding." Sarah slipped her car around another slow car in the left lane. Well, maybe that car wasn't going slow, but it was going slow_er_.

"No definite plans yet, but not kidding. We had a moment of 'uncertainty' and decided the idea wasn't that scary. You were picking out names. For some reason, you were hung up on L's and were convinced it would be a boy. We were still figuring out how to make our lives safer so we could raise a kid when Quinn came along."

Sarah jerked back to the left lane just in time to catch the split off for the 110 North exit. Life is never safe. Sarah had always known that. But gun fights were probably not the best pastime for a mother. From Chuck's file, she knew Mary Bartowski left Chuck and Ellie when they were young. After Sarah's childhood, she'd never want to do that to her kids. Sarah's eyes widened when she realized she was considering not just one kid, but _more than one_ kid with Chuck. She had no idea where these thoughts were coming from. It was unnerving. If she wasn't careful, she'd be thinking about ten kids.

They both were quiet for a few moments while Chuck resumed rubbing Sarah's hand with his thumb. It was helping calm her. _Time to change the subject._ "Chuck, do we know that police officer who was guarding my car?"

Chuck thought for a second. "I don't think so. I didn't flash on him, but that might just be the new Intersect. It might not flash when I don't want it to. Or it could be he's not in the Intersect."

"He seemed to know us."

"Maybe he provided back-up on a mission or two. We sometimes coordinated with local law enforcement. They normally wear helmets so it's not like we wouldn't recognize them." Chuck shrugged his shoulders.

"I guess that makes sense. He seemed like a fan. Kind of creepy, though. Was his name Fitzroy?"

"No, I think he said his name was Kingston, although he was babbling slightly incoherently in your luminous presence, so that might not be right. He was a little hard to understand." Sarah pulled free and swatted Chuck lightly on the shoulder with the back of her hand. After a blurb of protest from Chuck, her hand went straight back to his. She needed to maintain a connection.

"Wait!" Chuck said. "Stanley Fitzroy was the name of security designer for a building we ran a Trace Cell mission against a couple years ago. Kingston didn't really look that much like Stanley, but I guess the height and the nasal voice were similar. Fitzroy was also obsessed with my—I mean our—accomplishments. That's great you remembered Fitzroy!"

Sarah really didn't care about remembering some CIA bureaucrat. She cared more about the important memories—those with her husband. She took the Stadium exit on the right. "I wanted to hit him a whole lot harder than I just hit you," she admitted.

"You did hit him."

"No, I mean Kingston. I wanted to hit him. He was staring at my chest."

"Who could blame him?" came out easily. "I mean, er, well at his height they're, um, kind of hard to ignore." Maybe she should be insulted, but Sarah thought Chucks babbling was kind of cute. "Why didn't you hit him?" Chuck asked. "Not that I'm encouraging you," he hastily added.

"I figured you're not used to your wife going around hitting people."

"Of course I am—except when you're pointing a gun or a knife at them. You punched Fitzroy, if that makes you feel better. You said it was necessary."

"Really? It doesn't sound like I changed that much."

"No, in some ways you didn't. In other ways you changed a lot."

Sarah realized something else. "I can't believe I'm talking to you this much, but it feels… right. Almost normal."

"We don't always talk this much, but spent a long time working on our communication skills." Sarah looked over with some doubt. "Ok, I always talk this much. I babble both when I'm nervous and when I'm excited. Maybe your heart is remembering even more than your head." Sarah smiled a big, closed mouth smile. She wasn't sure about that explanation, but she liked how it sounded.

As she turned away from stadium, she briefly wondered if they ever went to games. She couldn't remember, but that didn't mean much in her current state. She didn't see any Dodgers paraphernalia at Chuck's—no—_their_ home when she was searching for Intersect glasses. Chuck seemed more into video games, strange helmets, unusual little toy dolls, and superhero cartoons. She wasn't planning a new search any time soon. She had other things planned when they got home.

"I can't believe we made out like that, on the beach, for that long," Sarah admitted.

"We did that about a month ago. Well, not on the beach, but on our sofa."

"We only made out? Because I thought the point of going home was to do more than make out."

Chuck swung his head around and opened his mouth in a couple of aborted attempts to reply. "Weeelllll, that's the normal directness that I come to love but still haven't figured out how to respond to. What can I say? We were both too comfortable to move, and we didn't have time to have the sofa cleaned before we had everyone over for brunch the next morning. Carmichael Industries doesn't have NSA cleaners to call on for our every whim."

"Maybe that was more detail than I needed." Sarah was really struggling not to laugh. "And when we get home?"

Chuck simply kissed Sarah's hand again but didn't try to respond. He seemed to be considering something other than what Sarah was implying. After a few more moments of silence, "It'll be ok, Sarah."

"Somehow, I know it will be. More stories will help. More of the other stuff too. We're definitely not stopping at the couch tonight. I can feel myself falling for you all over again. I think my heart already knows how it feels, even if my brain doesn't remember the details."

"We're together, that's all that matters right now," Chuck calmly replied.

Sarah turned off the expressway, getting ever closer to her home. She couldn't wait to get there.

* * *

A/N: What? They're not home yet? Patience, and don't worry. Sarah isn't running off anywhere anytime soon.


	4. Maybe this isn't their spot

_Posted 11 Aug 2012_

* * *

_**Maybe this isn't their spot.**_

_**A few minutes later**_

* * *

Chuck and Sarah walked through the arch leading to the courtyard, hand-in-hand. It was dark in the sky, but the courtyard's twinkle lights were on. Sarah was moving quickly, almost urgently, pulling Chuck along. Chuck stopped, surprising Sarah as their linked hands caused her to be pulled back sharply.

Sarah turned back and glared, "What is it, Chuck? We're almost there." Behind that fierce expression, she sounded desperate.

Chuck sighed. This was going to be tough. "It's not going anywhere. I just think we should talk a few more minutes." This had been on his mind in the car. She wasn't ready, but she didn't know it.

Sarah dropped his hand and placed hers at her hips. She initially looked confused, but that soon switched to a mix of impatient and annoyed. Yes, this was going to be really hard. Chuck was horrible at resisting her when she was determined, but he had to do it. He could tell Sarah was still uncomfortable with the entire situation and was covering her uncertainty with a race to the bedroom. She might not realize it, but she needed a Bartowski fix. She needed to talk about it. Not the small talk from the car, but a serious discussion. Maybe something else too.

Chuck stepped over to the fountain and sat at its edge. He patted the spot next to him and said, "Come here, Honey. Have a seat."

Sarah didn't budge. Her eyes darted from Chuck's eyes, to where he was patting, to the fountain, and back to Chuck. Her impatience dissolved to apprehension. "Let's just go inside."

"Not yet. I know I'm simply irresistible," he joked, "but I also know you well enough to know you're covering and are not really ready yet."

"I must have lost my touch if I can't get you to the bedroom. Either that or the honeymoon is long over." Chuck saw Sarah's eyes dart back to the top of the fountain again.

Chuck groaned. "Trust me. The honeymoon will never be over. You have no idea how much this is killing me. I just want to take the pressure off."

"That's what I want to do, too." Sarah had fully deployed her seduction voice.

Chuck couldn't hold back a snorting chuckle. "I wasn't talking about that kind of pressure. Come on. Just sit by me a few more minutes. I know you need this."

Sarah switched back to annoyed. "Is my psych profile in the Intersect?"

"I don't know about that, but I know about you from five years of intense study, and because I'm your husband."

Sarah's eyes widened at the assertion. Chuck knew he had her. She trusted him. She remembered their attraction to each other. She was even wearing her rings. But it still hadn't completely sunken in that they were husband and wife. She wasn't pulling a boyfriend or lover to _a_ bed. She was pulling her husband to _their_ bed. Chuck gave Sarah a gentle smile as she realized what Chuck had instinctively known.

"Ok, Chuck. We can talk a little bit more. But can we do it someplace else?"

Chuck crinkled his eyes. "What's wrong with the fountain? This is our spot."

"I thought the beach was our spot."

"It is, sort of for special occasions. But this is our other spot. This is where I was sitting earlier today when I realized where you would be. We have a lot of great memories here."

"I don't think so. When I look at the fountain, my stomach..." Sarah hesitated, reluctant to admit a weakness. "It just makes me uneasy."

"Come on, Sarah. We have a lot of great memories here."

"I remember lying to you here."

Chuck didn't know what to say. He couldn't remember that. Was this another time he forgot something?

"I felt it."

_Oh. That._

"I felt it before I left," Sarah continued. She looked so sorry. "You had to know," she almost pleaded. Chuck could tell she was trying not to cry. "I wouldn't come here and apologize and say goodbye..." Sarah ducked her head in shame. After a few seconds she looked up and saw what Chuck couldn't hide on his face. He hadn't known. "I'm sorry I lied. I didn't know how to deal with... how to deal with us. I had to stop Quinn, and I didn't remember that you could keep up and help. I didn't remember you felt it and would do anything for me. I can see I hurt you. I'm so sorry. I—"

"Sarah. It's ok." Chuck gave her a crooked smile. He lifted his hand towards her, and she instinctively took it. He pulled her sharply down next to her, so she was finally sitting at his side by the fountain. "I was in shock at the time, but I understand." This is what they had to hash out before going inside. "You're not allowed to do that anymore," Chuck explained. "We have a no-lying-to-each-other rule, even if it's for the other's protection. You didn't remember, so you get a free pass for that time. But now you know. Your version of the rule is actually a little simpler: No Secrets, No Lies."

Sarah raised her eyebrows in surprise. "It was your rule," Chuck answered her surprise. "It's actually a little point of contention, because I'd like to keep things like gifts and romantic gestures in a special surprise-slash-secret category, but you always figure out I'm hiding something and get it out of me, usually with some technique that involves very little clothing."

"I don't like secrets." Sarah bit her lip. "It's good to know I have some power over you."

"You have all the power."

"It doesn't seem to be working at the moment."

"Yes it is." Chuck put his arm around her back and pulled her close. "Here we are, snuggled together, in our _other_ spot."

Chuck could feel Sarah finally relax a little as she tilted her head onto his shoulder. "Chuck, tell me our story about this fountain."

Chuck smiled. She was trusting him again, wanting to know more. "Where to begin," he repeated from earlier. "Early in our relationship—when it was still a cover relationship—I'd walk you to your car right by this fountain. You had a Porsche back then."

"So I did have a Porsche. Why did I get the Lotus?"

"Carina blew up the Porsche. Actually, Amy blew it up, but Carina accidentally set off the bomb."

"Why would Amy—no wait. You know Carina and Amy?"

"Ellie, Carina, and Zondra were your bridesmaids. Amy, not Zondra, was the mole. But we digress, when we walked by—"

"No. Wait. I have to know. If you know Carina, did you and she ever..."

"What? Oh. No. Um, well… She kinda came on to me once, when she realized you were interested, you know, in me. It was shortly after we met, and I didn't even know you were interested. Like really interested, not fake, cover interested. But, no, nothing happened with me. She kind of freaked me out."

Sarah giggled and covered her mouth.

"Now Morgan on the other hand..."

Sarah dropped her hand and grabbed Chuck's arm. "You're kidding. Wait, I'm not really surprised."

"It was before Morgan and Alex. Carina came back later, but Morgan stuck by his girl."

"Alex is Casey's daughter, right?"

Alex was one of the first things Sarah had forgotten. That was a good sign. "Yes. She just moved in with Morgan, right over there." Chuck pointed to Casey's old apartment.

Sarah thought for a second, processing. "Ok, so back to the fountain."

"What was I saying? Oh yeah. After a cover date of dinner, closely guarded words, and some sorta fake but not really fake cuddling, we'd have a few moments of what I thought was unmonitored time to actually talk."

"You thought?"

"Casey was normally watching through the window, but I didn't know everything in the courtyard was also recorded."

"Ah." Chuck could tell Sarah wasn't surprised.

"And by talk, I meant I'd feebly try to flirt with you."

"I'm sure you did well enough. We did get married."

"I guess so. What can I say? I am adorable." Chuck bumped his should into hers. "I'd say something like if we were really dating, I'd be forced to kiss you." Chuck quickly pecked Sarah on the top of her head. "You'd ask if it'd be that bad, I'd say I could suffer through it, and you'd agree."

Sarah looked as if she was trying to work through what Chuck had just said. After a moment, she asked, "We were cover dating at the time?"

"Yes, I said this was after a cover date."

"So I assume we kissed for the cover."

"Sometimes. We didn't too often because it was kind of confusing for me, what with the real feelings and everything."

"And I had those feelings too. So while you thought you were flirting, you were rubbing in the fact that we really shouldn't be kissing."

"I never thought of it that way," Chuck admitted.

"At least we can do this now." Sarah leaned in for a quick kiss. As she started to pull away, he couldn't help but lean in to deepen the kiss. After half a minute they separated again. "That can't be the only problem I have with this fountain. It's obvious how cute you can be when you start rambling, so that doesn't explain this feeling in my gut. Did something else happen here?"

Chuck covered his eyes with is free hand, not sure if he liked being cute or was embarrassed by the rambling comment.

Sarah asked again, "Did you break up with me here or something like that?"

Chuck dropped the hand from his eyes, revealing them completely wide.

"Well, um—"

"Chuck, no secrets, no lies." She caught on quickly.

"Right. Our second break-up was here."

"Second break-up? How many times did we break up?"

"That's a little hard to count."

"That many times?"

"No. Yes. I don't know. See there were break-ups of our cover relationship. There was a huge misunderstanding in Prague where I didn't go on the run with you so I could complete my spy training and we could be together."

"How was that a break up?"

"Running away was your idea, and I didn't exactly explain my reasoning to you. But I really didn't want to break up, per se." Sarah was quiet, so Chuck pulled her closer to his side. Sarah's head returned to its place on his shoulder. "We're together now so it doesn't matter." He kissed the top of her head again.

"You said this was our second break-up. When was our first?"

Chuck detected something in her voice, almost as if she remembered it. She was asking, though, so he decided to answer without asking about her memory. "A few months after we met, I asked you, while you were under the influence of truth serum, if there was any hope for us, with our thing under the undercover thing."

"And I said no because as a spy I'm trained to resist the effects of truth serum," Sarah stated matter-of-factly.

"I didn't know that at the time."

"You really were naïve about being a spy."

"You have no idea... Sorry... That just kind of slipped out." Chuck knew he should do a better job at watching the memory references.

"That's ok." Sarah turned her head to look into Chuck's eyes with no reproach. "It's your job now to give me an idea."

"I can do that." Chuck leaned in and gave Sarah a soft, gentle kiss.

"So tell be about the second time you broke my heart." Chuck's mouth opened to protest, but Sarah shut it with a more forceful kiss. When she pulled back, she batted her eyes, still waiting for the story. She was playing with him.

"It was Bryce's fault." Sarah had said she had read his file, so she probably knew some of the Bryce backstory. Chuck didn't really want to talk about exes too much. "He told me something about you being compromised and getting killed because of our 'thing.' So I made up a story about wanting a normal life and you'd never be normal."

"Do you?"

"Do I want normal?"

"Yeah. You said we were planning some kind of normal life. You took me to _that_ house."

Chuck noticed how Sarah called it 'that' house. They'd have to talk about it eventually. "Sarah, I don't care about normal. I only care about a life with you, in whatever way you'll let me."

Sarah and Chuck quietly stared at each other for a few moments. Sarah was serious but the corners of her lips were moving up slightly. Finally Sarah spoke, "So the first two times we broke up were because of Bryce and truth serum. What about the other times? Were they Ellie's fault or Morgan's?"

Chuck detected a hint of sarcasm, but brushed if off. "Morgan, no. He was always rooting for Charah."

"Charah?" Sarah crinkled her brow.

"Chuck and Sarah—Charah. That's not important. One of the times was sort of Ellie's fault, although I probably wouldn't have worked up the nerve to break up our cover relationship again if you hadn't been listening to Ellie and me talk through surveillance bugs in a cereal box. You preempted the whole thing."

"How did we ever get married?"

"It helped that we had a lot of good memories at this fountain."

"Tell me about these good memories." Sarah bumped Chuck's side before placing her head on his shoulder again. She had found one thing she liked about this spot.

"Let's see... There's the time I told you I'd get the Intersect out of my head and spend the rest of my life with the woman that I love."

"Who was that?"

Chuck lightly elbowed her, but Sarah didn't jump. She was expecting it. "You, of course."

"Are you sure I knew that?" She was still playing with him.

"Of course you did. At least I think you did."

"I assume this is when you were just an asset, right."

"Yes."

"So you realize that by getting the Intersect out of your head, I'd be reassigned and probably never see you again."

"I hadn't quite worked that out at the time. My brain always went a little fuzzy when thinking about you. Still does sometimes." Chuck kissed her on the top of the head, again. He realized he'd been doing that a lot. Her hair smelled good, though. He'd missed it. He'd missed her. Something of ocean mixed with her normal scent. He tried to remember what he was talking about. She still made his brain fuzzy. "Ok, maybe in retrospect, that wasn't the best memory. Let's see, on the way to the Ellie and Devon's rehearsal dinner, this is where you first told me that we are real."

"Then what happened?"

"We rode with Casey to the dinner."

"And after?"

"We went home."

"I didn't stay over?"

"Well, we hadn't... you know... yet. "

Sarah hummed in disappointment. "Kind of like now."

"And my dad was staying in my room, so I was on the couch."

"We could have gone back to my hotel room."

"I was a little concerned that we might miss the wedding. When we finally did, you know, it took a while before we were in the right condition to be around other people." As much as Chuck talked, he still had trouble talking about this kind of thing, so he quickly moved to the next memory. "The reception after their wedding was here. We had a slow dance."

"And then?"

"We were interrupted by my dad and we had to go save Bryce from being killed."

"That's when you got the 2.0."

"You remember."

"Just a little. That just came to me. I don't remember the details around it."

"But that's great!"

"Don't sound too excited. You still haven't found a good memory here that ended well."

"Our engagement party was here."

"Did that end well?"

"Ellie agreed to be your maid of honor. The guests had a great time and left late."

"Great. I almost killed my maid of honor. So afterward we didn't..."

"No, we were exhausted and just collapsed."

"We did consummate our marriage, right?" Chuck was surprised he didn't detect any sarcasm this time.

"Oh course we did. Many, many... many, many times."

Sarah poked Chuck, and he jumped. He quickly grabbed her extended figure for his protection.

"Our last Christmas Party was here," Chuck recalled.

"And after..."

"Actually, I don't know. You talked to Beckman about the whole cover kiss thing, and then you disappeared."

"What cover kiss? We were married then, weren't we? That was just a couple months ago."

"Well, um, it was a cover kiss, um, between Beckman and Santa Claus."

Sarah twisted her mouth and saw through Chuck's evasion. "You were dressed as Santa Claus."

"Yes, but she started it. I still have occasional nightmares."

Sarah laughed and rocked forward. It wasn't just the beach. It felt so good to see Sarah laugh, Chuck was going to do everything he could to keep her laughing, even if it meant continually embarrassing himself.

"Since you don't know where I disappeared to, try another memory," Sarah suggested.

"Our rehearsal dinner was here. Wait. That definitely didn't end well."

"Was the dinner at least good?"

"I guess so. My mom finally held out an olive branch to you. Jeff created a video of highlights our courtship—"

"That creepy keytar player from the concert hall?"

"You know what a keytar is? I didn't know you knew what that was called before. Never mind. Yes. Jeff is creepy, but he can occasionally be kind of sweet. Ellie kissed him for his efforts. Quite disturbing."

"I'll have to see that video. It might fill in some blanks. What happened at the end to ruin the evening?"

"You were poisoned by a female Harry Osborn wanna-be."

"Whatever that means. This fountain has a lot of memories for us, but most of them aren't good. I wonder..." Sarah stood up and contemplated the fountain. She looked into the water and lightly touched it with her fingers. "This is where I found your watch." She stepped around it slowly. Chuck turned to watch her move. "Not that watch... A CIA issued tracker. You were kidnapped."

"That's right. You had been reassigned because we were getting too close. You came back against orders, discovered I was missing, and rescued me."

Sarah smiled briefly, but then she frowned as she stopped her survey of the fountain. She tilted her head as she stared at the top of the fountain for a few seconds.

"What is it, Sarah?"

She didn't answer immediately. Instead, she slipped off her shoes and stepped up on the fountain's edge.

"Sarah!"

She ignored his protest and jumped into the fountain splashing water on Chuck before he could stand up and get out of the way.

"What are you doing?"

Sarah smiled mischievously at Chuck. She kicked in his direction, splashing him. Not caring about how wet her pant legs were getting, she leaned in and inspected the bottom bowl, running her hands along the inside edge. She disregarded the fake, floating flowers, and waded through. When she completed a circle around the entire fountain, she reached up and traced the inside edge of the top bowl. Chuck couldn't figure out what she was doing. Suddenly she stopped, looked up at Chuck and smiled. With her hand still in the bowl, she lifted up. Chuck thought he heard a click. Sarah then leaned against the bottom bowl, her sweater now getting wet.

"Chuck, give me a hand."

Never one to resist Sarah anything she wanted, Chuck ignored that this fountain had once been peed in by a rock star. He quickly pulled off his shoes and socks and joined her in the fountain. It was cold! Sarah was trying to move the top of the fountain. Chuck joined her, and with his extra height, he was able to lift the top straight off. They returned to the sitting on the edge of the fountain, this time with their wet feet and pants on the inside.

"So why are we disassembling the fountain and exposing ourselves to whatever might be floating in the water?"

"Flip it over."

Chuck rotated the piece in his hands and looked at the bottom. A thin cylinder was carved into the stone, possibly with some kind of laser cutter. Stuffed into that cylinder was something that looked like—

"Sarah! Is that C-4?" Chuck whispered strongly.

"Looks like it to me," Sarah casually replied

"What is plastic explosive doing in our fountain?"

"I probably got upset about all of our 'great' moments here, and decided to retaliate."

"By blowing it up!" Chuck was still whispering, but not calmly or quietly.

"Calm down, Chuck. I didn't blow it up."

"You normally shoot things to feel better, or pummel them with your fists."

"Neither would work on a piece of stone. Don't worry. It doesn't look like there's a fuse or something to trigger a remote detonation. Maybe I removed it. C-4 is stable, so it's safe. It was just something to level the playing field."

"With a fountain?"

Sarah shrugged.

" You remembered this?" Chuck asked, still harsher than he meant to.

"No. After your stories, it just seemed like something I'd do."

"We're lucky the entire apartment complex didn't blow sky high. When Morgan moved in, he hosted a housewarming party. Jeff filled the fountain with his jail juice. Carina and her fiancé stopped by to retrieve a case that Morgan was supposed to hand off to me. There was this big showdown, and I sort of explained Prague while saving Carina."

"Carina got engaged?"

"No he was a mark-slash-weapons dealer."

"Of course. What was I thinking?" Sarah said under her breath.

"Anyway, I distracted the weapons dealer's thugs by throwing a torch into a fountain filled with highly flammable alcohol, and oh yeah, C4!"

"We didn't blow up, so what are you worried about?"

Chuck leaned back and looked at Sarah like he had no idea who she was.

Sarah yanked him back to her side and kissed him on the cheek. "Chuck, I know what I'm doing. It wasn't going to go off by accident. You said the courtyard was under surveillance, so Casey would have seen me do this. If I were to guess, I made up some story about placing a small charge here to serve as diversion. Casey would have inspected the entire charge for safety. The explosives would've made me feel like I had a way to retaliate."

Chuck nodded his head down. "You're right. He was probably mumbling about lady feelings the entire time. Maybe I shouldn't be surprised. I've seen how you retaliate against other inanimate objects, like cell phones and alarm clocks, when we weren't in a dark period."

Sarah looked confused. "I'm a little mixed up on the timeline. When do you think I installed in explosives?"

"After Prague."

"No. I would have done it after you broke up with me here. What was that? The second time."

"This has been here for four years!?"

"It's safe. You can probably just put it back on top."

Chuck stood up and stepped out of the fountain. "Nope. I'm going to place it carefully over here."

"And do what with it?"

Chuck looked at the cushioned lounge chair he was targeting. His wife had a point. "Ok, I'll put it back for now, but we're getting it replaced." Chuck stepped carefully back into the fountain, holding the explosive-laden fountain top. Sarah stood up and helped him balance as he replaced the top.

"Can we go in now?" Sarah was batting her eyelids again. Chuck held back a groan. This plan hadn't worked. Maybe he needed a new approach.

"Not yet. Since we don't have as many good memories at this fountain as I thought, we're going to make a new one. Right now."

"In the open? Ok. I thought you wanted some privacy," Sarah said. She looked serious.

"Not that!" Chuck looked at Sarah scandalously, and then saw the smirk on her face. She might not have all her memories back, but she remembered how to wind him up. Shaking his head, Chuck held out his hand and helped Sarah out of the fountain. "Wait here."

Chuck hurried over to the Morgan Door and climbed inside. He raced over to his desk, pulled up the desired playlist, and cranked up the volume so it could be heard in the courtyard. A few second later he was back out the window, face-to-face with the woman he loved. She looked genuinely curious. As the vocals for _3 Rounds and a Sound_ started, she tilted her head as if she recognized the song. That is what Chuck was hoping for. "I think it's time we properly finished one of our good memories." He held out his hand and asked, "You wanna dance?"

"You know I do," she automatically replied.

Chuck led her a couple steps away from the fountain where they started to dance. Without shoes, their height difference was more pronounced than last time they danced to this song. After a few bars, she laid the side of her head on his shoulder. They were close enough they weren't really dancing. It was more of swaying in a peaceful embrace. After a few more moments, Chuck finally felt what he was waiting for. Sarah completely relaxed. She wasn't pushing to a destination she thought she needed. She was just being who she was. She found herself, and the place she found herself was in his loving arms.

The song ended, making way for another. Neither Chuck nor Sarah changed their pace to match the new song. They continued to sway to their own private beat.

After two or three more songs, _Feeling Good_ started playing. The instant the first line started, Sarah pulled back, stopped, and grinned. "I remember this."

"It's your favorite song."

"You picked it for me." Chuck's teeth showed brightly at her memory. The instruments kicked in leading Sarah to say, "I understand why this is our spot now, but it's time to go inside."

This time, Chuck didn't disagree. Sarah was ready.

As Sarah pulled Chuck to the Morgan Door, Chuck glanced over to Morgan and Alex's apartment. The curtains were pulled open and Alex's head was tilted on her boyfriend's shoulder. Chuck figured he was lucky they hadn't set up camp in a couple of chairs eating popcorn. Morgan saluted Chuck, and Alex gave a small wave before pulling the curtains shut.

Sarah yanked on Chuck's hand pulling him to the threshold of the window opening. Sarah released his hand, turned quickly and was almost through the doorway to the hall when her sweater dropped the floor. "Come on, Chuck. We need to help each other washing the sand out of our hair."

Chuck was going to have to remind Sarah about not tracking water... and about not leaving sand filled clothes everywhere. But that discussion was for later. He had to hurry and catch up with his wife, who was likely almost naked in the bathroom.

* * *

A/N: I know it's a little ridiculous, but even Chuck has moved past the C-4 in the fountain. Of course Sarah leaving a trail of clothes between the Morgan Door and the shower might have something to do with that.


	5. Best laid plans

_Posted 12 Aug 2012_

* * *

_**Best laid plans...**_

_**The next morning**_

* * *

Sarah gulped down some OJ, closed the top, and placed the jug back in the fridge. Yesterday was a good day. No, a _great_ day. A lot better than she thought she ever deserved. Chuck found her and made her feel safe. He gave her what she needed. He made her feel loved. Based on the nervous energy she felt everywhere, she thought she might be in love. All signs were that she loved him before. She wondered if she felt like this all the time back then. She had a real life with him in this... home. She knew she needed to stop thinking as if this was all ancient history. About three weeks ago, she had an almost perfect life with a man who loved her, who she loved. Now she had a second chance at that almost perfect life.

Sarah kicked the door of the fridge shut with the back of her heel and looked around the kitchen to continue her task. Chuck drank coffee, she was fairly certain. At least the coffee mugs in the sink indicated that was the case. She just hoped he drank it for breakfast. Of course she wasn't sure how he fixed it, so she added both a sugar bowl and creamer to the tray. She had no idea where the tray was when she started this mission a few minutes ago. She only found it by opening every single cabinet and drawer. If she was going to live here, she should know better where everything goes in Chuck's—and her—kitchen. Then again, Chuck seemed like the kind of sweet guy who would always bring her breakfast in bed, so maybe she never knew where the tray was stashed because he was the one fixing it up. No, she's a spy. She would know where everything goes.

The tray and coffee weren't as big of an issue as the food. The eggs were two weeks past date. They might be ok, but she didn't want to risk making Chuck sick, especially now. She had plans for him. The strawberries, blueberries, and bananas were rotten. The cream was suspect, but at least it appeared she had taught Chuck the virtue of blueberries and cream. If the bread was just slightly stale, it could've been toasted, but it was moldy. Even the cheese puffs container on the top of the fridge was empty, not that they would qualify as breakfast food. The only breakfast food she could find was Pop Tarts and cereal. Sarah figured the multi-grain, vitamin fortified one was hers. She remembered eating that a few times before. That meant the generic Fruit Loops knock-off must be Chuck's. After pouring a bowl of the colored sugar rings, she opened the milk and discovered it had curdled. Pop Tarts, coffee, and juice it is!

The spoiled food ruined Sarah's plan of pancakes, omelets, and fresh fruit. Bacon would work, but it was frozen in a huge block, and she didn't want the noise of the microwave when thawing it. At this point, she didn't want to take the time either. The overall state of the food supply made Sarah wonder if grocery shopping was part of her "wifely duties." Or maybe Chuck was in such a bad state when she left he couldn't make it to the store. Sarah hoped it was the latter. She still couldn't imagine herself domestic, and now that Chuck and she were back together, she was trying not to feel too guilty about leaving him. The idea of him eating cheesy puffs while pining away for her was admittedly satisfying, and for some reason, it seemed familiar. She thought she should probably feel guilty about that. She deserved to, just to balance the fact that she didn't deserve him but was getting to keep him anyway.

The food might have been rotten, but the kitchen itself was clean. The coffee mugs she had found were clean and drying. The cabinets were well organized. Overall the apartment had a lot of clutter, but it was still very neat and tidy. It looked like cleaning was part of Chuck's responsibility, because that chore was maintained in her absence. Something made Sarah think Chuck was an obsessive cleaner. That was fine with her. Her instinct as a spy was to leave no trace of her presence behind. She wasn't sure she could live with a slob. They probably had one of the most sanitary apartments in Echo Park.

Fortunately, the juice was still good. They both needed some energy after last night. That memory made Sarah smile. First there was the shower where surprisingly nothing happened. Well, nothing except some serious making out and some not-so-innocent caressing while they washed the sand off of each other. Then there was the naked towel fight, which Chuck started, but she won. Then there was tooth brushing, which Chuck insisted on doing in tandem. For some reason it involved hip checking, flicking wet toothbrushes, and a minty make-out session—all of which Chuck insisted had never happened before.

When they stopped laughing and finally made it to the bedroom, Chuck was almost shy in a cute kind of way. Sarah had to take over, which she figured usually happen even though they've been together for almost two years. But after that... WOW! Everything felt new, yet familiar at the same time, and all together fantastic. She wondered how she ever could have forgotten the feeling of making love with Chuck.

Sarah was still smiling as she opened the door to Chuck's bedroom—no—to _their_ bedroom. This breakfast surprise was kind of pathetic, but she hoped he'd appreciate the effort. Sarah figured she probably should have run to the local coffee shop for some pastries. It would've been a better attempt. Supposedly her phone could help her find where that might be, but she really didn't want to leave Chuck alone that long. Regardless of the simplicity of the food, she hoped he'd recognize her attempt as a sign that she wanted to settle into this home. Also, maybe he'd take the spoiled food to the dumpster and take her to the local grocery story, wherever those two things may be. Still, she was determined that Chuck share in the grocery duties. She'd take the farmer's market and butcher shop. Chuck could handle the rest.

Chuck was still sleeping, which pleased Sarah. She didn't want him panicking by not finding her there. Leaving him behind a couple weeks ago had seemed necessary, but now she knew that it had been cruel. She didn't understand what was going on then. She just knew Chuck was causing feelings she couldn't understand or control. She thought distance would help her focus on the missions. How wrong she was. Who planted the dumb idea into her subconscious that distance would help?

After placing the tray on the corner of the bedside table, she leaned over to kiss Chuck awake. Like most of their kisses she couldn't seem to pull away. That's what led to their 2AM interlude. He wasn't pulling away this time either. Even though he was responding, she wasn't sure he was awake. Sarah continued to kiss him softly, having no qualms about making his dream more pleasant. Suddenly he grabbed her and pulled her over the top of him, over to the opposite side of the bed. Sarah couldn't contain a rather unspy-like squeal. The sneak had been faking sleep!

Chuck gave Sarah a wet kiss on the neck and then pushed up over her, containing her between his arms. "You're wearing my shirt from yesterday." His tone was accusatory, but his face was smiling. He leaned down and kissed her collarbone in the open V of her shirt and pulled back again. He glanced down at her legs for a fleeting second before meeting her eyes. "You're wearing _only_ my shirt."

"Well, my suitcase is out in my car, and I figured I shouldn't run out into the street wearing no clothes just to get it," Sarah feebly explained. "I almost took your boxers, too."

"I'm wearing them!"

"I wanted to let you sleep some more." Sarah knew that if she took his boxers, she never would have gotten up to make that pathetic breakfast.

"You do have half of that closet full of clothes," Chuck countered. "And you took over the entire closet in the other bedroom when the CIA removed their endless wardrobe from Castle."

Sarah squirmed her hips a little to get comfortable causing Chuck to groan. She smirked the instance she could tell that Chuck figured out her ruse. Of course she knew. It only made sense. This was her home. Also, she did stay here the night before they stole the Intersect, and the next morning she dressed with clothes she found in this very closet. She just wanted to wear his shirt this morning. It smelled like him. Still, it's good to know she had a second closet of clothes available.

Chuck punished her theft by leaning over and giving her a wet and ticklish raspberry on her stomach, below the one button she had bothered to fasten.

Sarah retaliated by intertwining their legs and flipping Chuck on his back. Chuck seemed to be expecting it, but he did nothing to prevent her actions. "I'm getting my shirt back," he stated with confidence.

She quickly removed the offending garment, causing him to lose all interest in reclaiming it. He didn't seem to care about breakfast either. So much for that wasted mission. This one was better anyway.

* * *

A/N: Even Sarah can't do everything if the NSA doesn't stock the kitchen and Chuck lets the food spoil.


	6. Silly little argument

_Posted 13 Aug 2012_

* * *

_**This argument is a little silly.**_

_**A little while later**_

* * *

Sarah stretched and purred. No matter what she did, she couldn't keep the smile off her face. _Time to get up__… M__aybe in a minute._ First, she rolled over to face the man snuggled in behind her. His big, closed-mouth grin matched her own.

"Chuck, we need to do something about the food situation." Chuck nuzzled into her neck, causing her to groan. "Chuck," she weakly protested. He found her ear and nipped on the lobe. "Where have you been eating?"

"Ellie and Awesome's. Morgan brought by some sandwiches," he mumbled as he kissed his way down her jaw.

"Not now, Chuck." She didn't sound convincing as he worked his way up her other jaw. "Chu-uck."

"Fine. I'll head out…" Chuck continued his slow journey. "Later."

Sarah struggled to control her breathing. She really should get up. The sun was shining brightly though the window. Coming from a courtyard, that would mean it was late in the morning. Sarah pulled back, gave Chuck a quick but forceful kiss on the lips, and then rolled off the bed. Chuck ogled her shamelessly, inciting Sarah to add a little wiggle to her hips as she reached into the closet. She pulled out black T-shirt with white print and smelled it deeply. Satisfied, she pulled in on and flipped her hair out of the neck opening. She turned to Chuck and bent a knee to strike a pose. Chuck groaned this time, wiping his hand down over his face, hiding his eyes.

"What?"

Chuck chuckled softly. "It's not fair when you wear my shirts."

Sarah smirked, "Looks like my shirt now, at least until it doesn't smell like you anymore."

Chuck laughed outright, and Sarah joined him. His laughs were infectious. He started, "I lo…" He stopped, jumped out of bed, gave Sarah a quick kiss on the forehead and found some clothes for himself.

Sarah wondered what just happened. Why didn't he say it? It's not like _he_ didn't remember. "You can say it, you know."

"I don't want to pressure you." Chuck held her in his arms.

"You're not. I know we were—are—married. We both had to have said it before."

"Last time, you were a little… hesitant."

Sarah withdrew herself from his arms. "What do you mean? Last time I said it first." She was certain of it. That is to say she was as certain as someone with five years of wiped memories could be.

* * *

**Who said what when, huh?**

* * *

Chuck was confused. Sarah looked certain, about as certain as he had seen her in all of the time since she showed up at the Buy More a couple days ago. Ok, maybe she was more certain when she shot Quinn. She was more certain when she threw herself at him at 2AM and again after the failed breakfast in bed attempt. But this was the I'm-going-to-kill-Ryker type of certainty in her face. It was hard to take seriously when she was dressed like that. His button down shirts were bad enough, bringing images of Paris and of unpacking into closets. But one of his T-shirts... They just made her look so adorable. Especially when he was sure she had no idea what they meant. That one time she wore the shirt that said "My Entire Life," he about lost it.

He shook his head to clear it. No. Sarah was rebuilding her memories. He couldn't let her mess them up just because she looked like _that_.

"Sarah, Honey, I said it first."

"I'm pretty sure you didn't. I actually remember it," Sarah said.

"That's great you remember something, but that's not what happened."

Sarah pulled on a pair of jeans, to Chuck's dismay. "Yes it was. I can prove it."

"No, I remember every detail about that moment. A huge weight was lifted, just like it was when I said it first."

"I don't care what weights you were lifting. I said it first."

"I think your memory is just a little jumbled."

"Wait here," Sarah called from the hall before she headed out the front door.

* * *

**I'll show you proof.**

* * *

Sarah rushed back through the door to the apartment, finding Chuck sitting on the sofa, typing away at a laptop. "I got the proof," Sarah said as she held up a jump drive and a DVD.

Chuck ignored her, exclaiming, "Ha!" as he turned the laptop so she could see.

"What am I looking at?"

"A video from your CIA file."

"You have access to my CIA file? Agents aren't even allowed access to their own files."

"It's probably in here somewhere," Chuck said as he tapped his head, "but I still have a backdoor or three I can use so you can see it too."

Sarah settled beside Chuck on the couch to watch the video, feet tucked under her, leaning against him. "What _exactly_ is this?" she asked.

"This is highlights from your 49-B."

"They gave me a 49-B?"

"Which you failed." Chuck sounded proud.

"I failed." Sarah couldn't believe it. She didn't like failing. "How wasn't I reassigned?"

"You were at first. It's related to that watch incident you remembered last night. Your replacement almost blew my cover to Devon, got him in trouble with Ellie, and almost got me killed. You defied orders and saved me. I stood up to Beckman, and Casey backed us, so you were reinstated."

"Who was the agent?"

"Alex Forrest."

"I always hated her. She wanted to join the CATS, but she didn't play well with others."

"And that's saying something compared to Carina."

Sarah explained, "Carina's creative plans break protocol, but still get results. Forrest's have too much collateral damage. She has a reputation for losing partners. Zondra did something to get her to withdraw her request. I never learned the details."

The video finished. "You didn't actually say it," Sarah asserted, "You only said I know how you felt. Looking at this timestamp, I obviously didn't know or we would have been together a lot sooner."

Chuck pulled the laptop back to his lap and started hacking furiously. Sarah ran her hand along his back and arms until Chuck finally told her to stop distracting him.

"We should have a movie night," Chuck suggested as he continued to type. "I have videos from Ellie and Awesome's wedding," Chuck pointed to the picture of the two of them on the mantel, "our wedding, and that infamous video Jeff made for our rehearsal dinner. I think there's a pirate copy of a video of you holding Baby Clara at the hospital floating around somewhere." Chuck smiled at Sarah giving her the eyebrow dance. Sarah pushed him lightly, getting him refocused on task.

After a moment, he moved the computer back to the table where Sarah could see. "This is the first time I said it. Fortunately it was in Castle—the old one—so it was recorded."

Sarah watched intently. She felt like she knew what was going to be said right as it was about to be said. The whole scene was incredibly heartfelt, emotional, and romantic. As the scene unfolded, she gripped Chuck's hand tighter and tighter. She was a lucky girl to have such a sap for a… for a husband.

"Did I join you?" she asked.

"No."

"How could I not?"

"After a last minute mission, an unneeded rescue with tanks, an ice cream and whiskey confession, another mission, and a necessary rescue on the Seine, we finally got to go. That ice cream confession is when I got you to say 'yes' that you did feel that way, but you didn't actually say the words until a while later. The 'yes' was your equivalent to my 49-B confessions."

Sarah thought for a few seconds, then handed Chuck the jump drive. "Sorry, but you are remembering it wrong."

* * *

**No, I'll show you proof.**

* * *

Chuck looked at the jump drive, recognizing it. Sarah sometimes kept it on her key chain, but had seen it in her suitcase and the glove box of the Lotus. She had never let him see what was on it before. He inserted the drive and waited. After watching the video, saying he was surprised would be putting it mildly.

"I was such an idiot," he groaned.

"What?"

"You were so mad at me after Prague. That's why you started treating me nicer again. I should have waited just a little bit longer."

Sarah wrapped her arm behind his back and tilted her head to his shoulder. "It worked out. I'm here now."

"You're right. As long as you're with me, I can't complain." Chuck paused. "What I don't understand is how does this prove you said it first. This just proves I said it even earlier."

"It proves your memory is wrong." Sarah handed him the DVD with a smile. "This proves I said it first." Chuck put in the disc. "We can watch the whole thing together later, but go to day 564, which I'm guessing is right after the 49-B. The day before that entry I talked about the incompetent agent who almost got you killed."

* * *

**The proof, well maybe.**

* * *

Chuck watched the video, while Sarah watched him. She had seen this part several times during her two week hunt of Quinn. She would watch it before she went to sleep every night. She watched it before she made the decision to ask for Chuck's help. She knew her own words by heart.

Chuck pulled her tightly against his side as he watched. When the log entry was complete, he faced her and placed a gentle kiss to her lips. "I knew the 2.0 really screwed things up for us, but as you said earlier, it's only important that we are here together, now."

Chuck kissed her again and she melted into him. After a few moments, he pulled back with a mischievous grin. "This doesn't count because you didn't say it to me."

"I had to have said it sometime," Sarah argued. "Your confession while fainting was months later."

"I didn't faint; I passed out from gases. And I was at a CIA training camp without you for most of time gap. You were justifiably mad at me too."

"But what about before that?"

"Nope. Nada."

"But I remember standing right here, in front of the couch and saying it to you."

"That was later, after you moved in with me."

"That doesn't make sense."

"You are the mysterious Sarah Walker. I like that you don't always make sense."

"In my memory, I didn't say 'too'. That had to mean I said it first."

"You said it first that time. I had been locked away because the Intersect was melting my brain." Sarah eyes widened, so Chuck knew he would have to explain that one later. "You preemptively said it when I got home."

"Oh."

Chuck smiled and gave her a soft, quick kiss. "So you said it first _that _time. And you said it first to a recording that was sent off to some random superiors in the CIA. You just didn't say it to me… before I said it to you."

Sarah responded, "Whatever. That's good enough for me." Then she leaned into him, pushing him flat on the sofa with a long wet kiss.

* * *

**Aren't we missing something?**

**Several minutes later**

* * *

Finally coming up for air, Sarah pushed up over Chuck, staring down at him with her arms at the sides of his head. "You know what?" Sarah prompted.

"We still haven't said it." They both laughed. They'd been thinking the same thing.

"Ok, on three," Chuck said.

Sarah rolled her eyes but started the count, "One, two."

"Wait, wait, wait. By 'on three' do we mean one, two, then do it, or do we mean one, two, three, then do it?"

"Chuck, you're the one who said on three. I don't care."

"Ok, we'll do it after three."

They counted together, "One, Two, Three…"


	7. Nerd cave

_Posted 14 Aug 2012_

* * *

_**Nerd Cave (aka The lay of the land)**_

_**Later that afternoon, Sarah wants the lay of the land.**_

* * *

Chuck fumbled with the door and tried not to fall through. "Suunnn eelll ease!"

Sarah rushed over to take a couple of the plastic grocery bags from Chuck's arms, plus the one from his mouth. "What did you say?"

"'Some help please,' which you've given me. Thanks." He kissed her on the cheek, and they carried the bags over to the kitchen. Sarah then returned to the poster on the wall she had been contemplating when Chuck walked in. "I thought you were helping."

"You said I was done."

"Don't you want to know where everything goes?"

"I'm a spy. I can figure it out." She shrugged.

"I love you too, Honey."

Sarah smiled, blew Chuck a kiss, and turned back to the poster.

Chuck put the cold stuff away. The other stuff could wait. He had to know what Sarah found so interesting. He stepped behind his wife and slowly wrapped his arms around her. Sarah overlapped his arms with hers and leaned back into his chest. They sighed at the same time. After a moment of staring at the poster, he asked, "What are you doing? Are you remembering something?"

Sarah pulled free and turned to face Chuck. She put two fingers from each hand on her temples, hands spread flat and wide, and exclaimed, "Oh my God! I remember everything!"

Chuck couldn't contain his surprised reaction before he realized the joke. "Hey, I know the magic kiss didn't work, but maybe our magical bedroom activities…" He gave her his best eyebrow dance. Sarah shoved his chest playfully. She then grabbed his forearms and spun around, pulling Chuck into his previous position with his arms wrapped around her. They resumed staring at the poster.

"Why are we staring at this poster?" Chuck asked.

"I don't get it."

"Get what?"

"Big City. What is it? Where is it? Is that a snow mobile?"

"It's a print from _The Art of Big City_ by Ragnar. The illustrations are all in the style of movie picture posters and feature, um, various things."

"Let me guess, girls and spaceships."

"And robots. See that one over the mantel? Robots. But yeah, pretty much."

"And why is it—why are they—on our walls?"

"They look cool?" Chuck could imagine the disapproving look on Sarah's face. "They were up when you moved in with Morgan and me. We've gradually been replacing things that are 'me' with things that are 'you' and 'us.' This one was moved, but it hasn't come down yet."

"Like the one over the TV."

"Oh, no. That's from a concert I went to before we met. You like them too. We're going to have to refresh your music education. At least we still have several carefully crafted playlists you like as a starting point. Those took a while to compile. You have Franz Ferdinand's "Bite Hard" on your workout mix, and "Can't Stop Feeling" is on our, ehem, um, is on our… our sex tape. Not that kind of sex tape. You call it that to fluster me. I mean it's the mp3 playlist we sometimes listen to when you know we, um—"

Sarah saved him with a light chuckle, "Make love? Yeah, I got that. Ok, I understand the posters well enough. They are colorful, so I guess they can stay. What about the space helmets? Why are they still out?"

"One of those actually helped with a mission once. Morgan used it to cover for Casey's couch lock."

"Huh?"

"It's not important. It's someone else's weird story. Not yours or mine."

"Ok. But I still think I should know what stuff's in my home."

"I'll buy that. Although, I would like to point out that you didn't know any of this before."

"Really? Well, I want to know now. Do you have a problem with that?" She sounded half teasing, half serious. Chuck was going to spend the rest of his life figuring that out.

"Of course not." Chuck kissed her on the cheek. "Where to you want to go next?"

Sarah spun them around and pointed across the room. "There."

"I would think it's obvious."

"Sure, but why is one in our living room?"

"It's cool. Who wouldn't want a big wooden Indian in their living room?"

"I could kill and stuff Lester for you."

Chuck snorted. "Ok, I should have said, 'Who wouldn't want a big wooden Native American in their living room?' Look at that. You made a joke… a couple of them. You once told me you're not funny."

"I'm not a cannibal either, but maybe this time I was being serious."

Chuck let go of Sarah and stepped around to stand in front of her, grinning at her as she tightly held back a smile. "You can't fool me. It was a good joke. What I want to know is why you said that."

"Said what?"

"That thing about the cannibal."

"It's an expression. The joke was about Lester."

"No it's not. The cannibal thing was _my_ joke from our first first date. You're stealing my material!"

"How could it be called stealing if I don't remember?"

"It's all in there," he said, and he kissed her forehead. "And when did the idea of stealing ever stop you?"

"You're right about that. We'll be discussing the wooden statue in the future. I might feel it and remember I love you, but I'm not feeling this statue. If we clear out enough space, I could hang a workout bag here."

"Oh no. Not having that. There's a reason you worked out at Castle. If I have to watch your glistening skin as you punch, high kick, and do what you do, we're going to be spending a lot of sweaty time on the sofa."

Sarah cocked her head and smiled. "Sounds good to me. For now, we should be starting back here." She grabbed his had and pulled him down the hall to their bedroom.

"Again? Already? Not that I mind, but some recharge time might be a good idea."

Sarah didn't dignify that with a response. Chuck didn't resist too much because it wasn't an entirely bad idea. It never really was. But she seemed to have something else on her mind.

"These pictures?" She pointed to the pictures above the bed.

"We picked them out on at a little art bazaar on an anniversary trip to Barstow."

"I thought we've been married less than a year."

"Not that kind of anniversary. I'll make you a list of all of the important dates: day we met, first date, second first date, first rescue, first kiss, first non-cover kiss, first time we almost… you know, first time we did… you know."

Sarah laughed. They'd been doing that quite a bit since she returned home with him, but he sometimes still had trouble saying it. "Probably a good idea. Otherwise I'll have a very good excuse to forget those dates." She waved her hand toward the corner between the bed and the closet. "I presume this is my stuff."

"It's not my nest."

"No, _that_ is yours." She pointed to the computer's corner of the room. "The poster?"

"My dad gave it to me."

"So that's not moving," she said with acceptance. Chuck liked how Sarah always understood when something was important.

"It also doubles as an Intersect-slash-spy world-slash-Sarah Walker memory map. You should check out the back."

"I'll have to do that later, I want the complete overview first."

"I used to have a _Dune_ poster by the closet—"

"_Dune_?"

"We really need to work on your nerd cred."

"Ok." Chuck's mouth dropped open in shock. Sarah frowned. "What?"

Chuck's mouth flapped a couple of times but no sound came out. Finally he spoke, "Really? Because you've never showed interest before."

"I need to be able to understand your lingo. You didn't try to convert me before?"

"I tried a little when we fake dated. _Twilight Zone_ marathons and the like. You didn't take to it, and I didn't want to scare you away with nerd overload. I think you were too busy watching the exits and entrances for bad guys to enjoy a movie."

"More likely I was trying not to blow my assignment by enjoying cuddling with you too much."

"Maybe, but later when it wasn't a cover, you just complained about my entertainment choices."

"Well, pretend I don't remember any of that and make better choices."

"Right now? Because this is going to require planning and strategy."

"Of course not now. For now, tell me about _Dune_."

"It's sci-fi. There's a movie and a miniseries. A sequel miniseries, too. But it all starts with one of the all-time classic book series. Maybe you should start with that."

Sarah looked like she was rethinking her offer but steadied herself and agreed to at least try the first book. She asked about a few other things in the room. ComicCon had to be explained, which Chuck didn't understand because Sarah did live in San Diego for at least a couple years. He finally called her on it, and she admitted to liking watch him babble.

Sarah didn't believe him when she thought the pillows were switched. The pillow with two indents was on Chuck's side. She was positive he normally snuggled up on her side, meaning the double indent pillow was hers. He explained all of the pillows were hers, no matter where they were on the bed, but she was on his side more often than not. They kissed out a truce with knowledge that they'd each be proven correct over the next few days.

Chuck mentioned a _North By Northwest_ poster, which he wasn't sure if Sarah had ever seen on his wall. To his surprise, Sarah had actually seen that movie while hiding out at a vintage theater after a con she and her dad pulled in Wisconsin. She thought the movie was instructive on how to work a mark, but Chuck sympathized with the man thrown into the spy world. He also agreed that Eva Marie Saint fell for her mark, so maybe it was instructive. Sarah didn't appreciate the analysis, but Chuck silenced her protest with a sloppy wet kiss.

After finishing in the bedroom, they returned to the dining area. Chuck explained how Morgan and he got drunk one night while Sarah was on a mission in Russia. The outcome of that night was mailing the pink flamingo to Beckman. It was returned a couple weeks later, but Chuck noticed the box had been opened. Either the bomb squad did it and kept the bird in quarantine, or Beckman put it out in her office for a while.

Sarah asked about the dolls and their cars, which Chuck quickly corrected to 'collectible action figures and assault vehicles.' He explained the collection was worth quite a bit of money and quickly added that they were swapped with pictures in the second bedroom when company visited. Sarah suggested he sell them to buy his own car. She wanted the pictures out all of the time, to help her remember their happy life together. Chuck completely agreed with picture plan, but not the car plan. He suggested putting out even more pictures as soon as he could buy the frames, and promised to add the collectibles to the others in storage.

Sarah was surprised they never played foosball together. Chuck explained it wouldn't be fair because Chuck and Morgan played a lot. After Sarah beat him soundly, she revealed she used to hustle guys in pubs across Boston when she was in college, but hadn't played since. Chuck lamented the fact that foosball was not in the Intersect because he obviously needed a skill level bump to compete. Then he suggested Sarah destroy Morgan in a match sometime soon. After that, they should sell the table because he didn't need the constant reminder of his foosball inferiority.

Sarah wisely refused the challenge at the video game table by the slider. Chuck preempted a suggestion of the video game console from being moved to storage by explaining that it also doubled as an end table.

Chuck spent ten minutes explaining the virtue of classic game systems and the reasoning behind why so many different systems and controls had to be kept. He also emphasized as clearly as he could that controller cords are not compatible with knifes. When Sarah told him he shouldn't reveal his weak spots to knife-wielding assassins, Chuck tried to change the subject.

Sarah had a question first. "Why does Guitar Hero have a drum set and a microphone?"

"Those are for Rock Band. Different game."

"Did Jeff and Lester ever come over to play it with us?" she asked.

"Those guys… here? No. They were over for the occasional party in the courtyard. But they've only been allowed inside a couple of times, and only under strict supervision… especially after we found out they had keys. We changed the locks, of course."

"Did we play this Rock Band at the Buy More or somewhere else?" Sarah was clearly confused; her memories must be getting mixed up.

"No. Why?"

"I remember singing backup to Jeffster."

Chuck laughed hard, causing Sarah to glare him. She didn't think it was funny.

"Were you dancing to 'Push It'?" He laughed again

"I don't know the song. I don't really know music. Why are you laughing at me?"

"I'm sorry. You had a recurring dream for a couple months after I proposed. You see, I proposed at the hospital just after Clara was born. Jeffster made an appearance in the maternity ward a little while earlier to serenade her birth. They were arrested, of course, but that was their song."

"And this caused a recurring dream?"

"You called it a nightmare, but part of me thinks you have a secret dream of dancing for a hip hop group."

"I do like to dance." She shrugged. "And I need a new job… unless the plan was for me to wander around the house, barefoot and pregnant all of the time." She gave him a tight, teasing smile.

Chuck shrugged back and tilted his head to the side as if considering it. "Sounds like something we need to practice for."

Sarah placed her arms loosely on his shoulders. "How many kids are we talking about?"

Chuck couldn't believe Sarah already sounded half onboard with the baby plan. Maybe she was just feeling him out. He looked at the writing on his T-shirt, which she was still wearing, and smiled. "We didn't really talk about what would happen after the first, but your shirt has a good suggestion."

Sarah stepped back and pulled out her shirt to read it upside down. "10! What? Do you have an evil plan to raise an army of knife wielding children?"

"As fun as that sounds, we now know what type of person you are."

"The kind that doesn't want to be pregnant 10 times and go through labor 10 times? Or are you thinking twins and triplets? That can't really be planned, and I can't image juggling multiple infants at the same time would be any easier."

"If anyone could juggle babies, I'm sure you could, but it's not really safe for the babies to be thrown into the air." Sarah swatted Chuck again. Undeterred, Chuck said, "No, I meant you are the kind that doesn't understand binary."

"Huh?"

"Your shirt says there are 10 types of people, those that understand binary and those that don't."

"Oh, I didn't read the rest of it. I kind of freaked out when I saw the number."

"Yes, you did." Chuck smiled and gave her a quick kiss. "So I say was start with one. Not right away. When you're ready. I should say when _we're _ready. Then we'll think about 10. And by that I mean 1-0 binary, or I should just say we'll think about 2."

"We'll see."

"Ten would mean a lot of sexy times." Chuck bent his elbows at his sides and pulled his fists up shoulder level, doing a little dance.

Sarah laughed and mimicked his dance for a couple seconds before steadying him with her hands on his cheeks and going up on her tip toes to give him a brief kiss.

"What else do you want to know about?" Chuck asked.

"I saw your P.A.N.T.S. and want to get into them later," Chuck groaned at the pun. "But first I want to see what is so great about this couch that it would interrupt my workouts."

"Didn't we figure that out earlier? Like a couple of hours ago?"

"I forgot," Sarah teased.

Chuck walked her over to it and eased down onto it with her. She moaned softly as he worked down to her neck. He was going to make sure she remembered what was so great about it.

* * *

**Still on the couch**

**Does it really matter how much time has passed?**

Sarah couldn't believe how good Chuck was at that. If only took a couple seconds, and she was a pile of goo. She opened her eyes slightly and something in her spy senses caught her attention: a blink of a little red ligh—a reflection off a picture frame. The source must be coming from… "Chuck." He seemed to not hear her, pushing up her T-shirt to expose her belly. "Chuck." He kissed the newly exposed skin. "Chuck!" She pushed him off causing him to fly back to the far side of the couch.

"What? I thought you liked that."

"I do. What's that?" She pointed to a little camera over the slider valance.

"Oh, that's left over from when you and Casey used to watch me twenty-four hours a day. I like to imagine that you would wistfully watch me, pining away, back when we weren't allowed to be together."

"That sounds more like Casey," Sarah deadpanned.

"Ok, you _are_ funny. You're not a cannibal either. Call me disappointed."

Sarah tried to be serious, which was difficult with Chuck's wandering hands. "What's it still doing here? CIA agents' private residences are not supposed to be under surveillance, and I thought we haven't been in the CIA for a while."

"We left it in place for security. Well, actually, Casey removed the expensive fly-on-the-wall cameras and installed previous gen government cameras that are a little more overt. We've had bad guys in the apartment complex a couple of times, so it seemed like a good idea. But it's off now."

"Where's it controlled?"

"Castle. That's closed up tight, though. Why?"

"I saw a light flash. Could it be controlled from anywhere else?"

"Casey's, but he's overseas with Ger… trude."

Sarah was already standing and fixing her shirt. A moment later she was across the courtyard when she heard a "Please don't kill him!" coming from the apartment she just left.

After pounding on the door four times, it opened revealing a short brunette.

"I swear it was an accident!"

Sarah pushed past. "Where is he?"

"He was just trying to bypass my dad's password to get access to some personal photos, when the security feed came up," the woman quickly justified. She must be Alex, Casey's daughter and Morgan's girlfriend. For some reason that seemed important to remember.

Her story made sense. Spies had to protect their personal lives from those who might exploit it, so personal photos would be secured. But this was too far. She found Morgan panicking as he pounded on the keyboard.

"Danger Will Robinson! Danger!"

With a sudden sense of déjà vu, she remembered a binder. "First the T.I.T.S., now this."

Morgan looked up, holding the keyboard up to block his face has he turned and covered his crotch with the other hand. The move caused Sarah to take a step back. There was something about the position that instinctively told her to be careful, no matter how pathetic it looked.

"That was the 'Toes In The Sand' plan to find you and Chuck the perfect house," Morgan explained. "And this was an accident! I can't hack into things intentionally like Chuck can. It was accident, simply an accident!."

Sarah stared him down. Even if it was an accident, a little intimidation would ensure it wouldn't happen 'by accident' again. After all, she wanted be able to take Chuck whenever and wherever she wanted in their own home. She stalked closer.

"Chuuuuck! Heeellllp!"

* * *

A/N: No, that's not a cliffhanger. As if Sarah would really hurt Morgan. All limbs and other appendages remained attached. No hospital visits or floor cleaning required. If you don't remember the posters, check out mynameisjeffnimlost tumblr com/tagged/CaSvTNA for posters and screencaps of all chapters.

This ends what is unofficially 'part one' for the first 24 hours after the finale, aka "Sarah vs Her Home."

Action is coming back in part two. This story is "Their Next Adventure" after all.


	8. Just when you thought it was safe

_Posted 15 Aug 2012_

* * *

_**Just when you thought it was safe to go back to the Buy More.**_

_**A few days later**_

* * *

"I miss you, and I love you. Goodbye, Sweetie." It slipped out of Sarah's mouth before she knew where it came from. Sarah surmised it didn't go over well when she heard Chuck sputter on the phone. "Sorry about that. You keep calling me 'Honey' so I figured I should try an endearment."

Chuck regained his voice. "No, that's ok."

"What did I used to call you?"

"You say Chuck more than a person normally uses the name of someone they are talking to. But you used sweetheart, sometimes Sweetie. You just surprised me."

"It seemed appropriate."

"Not big guy or stud?"

Sarah laughed. "You have the perfect level of sweetness for me. When did I start calling you that?" Sometimes, Sarah wanted the memories to come back on their own. Other times, she couldn't wait and just asked for the story. Chuck had been patient with her, letting her find her own way. More memories were coming back all of the time. They were just coming slower than she wanted. She still thought she'd demonstrated considerable patience. She figured most people would want her memories back right away, but Sarah was enjoying the rediscovery.

Chuck cleared his throat. "I think we'd only been cover dating for about two weeks. We were on a double date with Morgan and Carina-"

"You were serious when you said Morgan and Carina..." she trailed off. She couldn't say it out loud. It was too disturbing.

"Um, yes. Maybe we should talk about that later, the plane is taking off soon. Or you could ask Morgan. Just don't do it in front of Alex. She's a little touchy about Carina."

Sarah knew that wouldn't happen. After the scare she gave Morgan the other day, there was no way Alex was letting her alone with him any time soon. She wouldn't really hurt him. Her skills of intimidation were sometimes too strong. Alex seemed as frightened by the situation as much as Morgan.

"I have to go. The flight attendant doesn't understand my sweetness and is glaring. I'll see you soon. Love you. Bu-bye." Chuck hung up before Sarah could say anything. The flight attendant better not understand his sweetness.

Sarah sighed and flopped back on the couch. Chuck had been gone less than 24 hours, and she couldn't believe how much she missed him. Since the beach a week ago, they had spent every waking and non-waking minute together. This separation wasn't pleasant, but it was necessary. It was a mutual decision for Chuck to leave Sarah behind for a day and a half. They needed a little time apart. Sarah couldn't believe how much she had changed in the past week—from solo operative bent on revenge, to love sick girl missing her husband. She needed some perspective, and a little distance is sometimes ok, as long as it has a very limited time window. One day was about her limit.

Sarah had been most worried about the previous night, sleeping alone. Surprisingly, she slept over ten hours. She pulled on one of the T-shirts that smelled like Chuck, held his pillow tight, and went right to sleep. She probably really needed it because Chuck and she had not been letting each other sleep through the night for the last few days. Now she was refreshed, energized, and bored.

Chuck's trip did have a purpose. They used some of the money from the Buy More sale, little that it was. Subway only bought the store franchise and its inventory. They were not interested in the building or the land. The inventory represented significant debt. The net proceeds from the sale and the first month of rent was just enough to pay off what Carmichael Industries owned the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority for storage of their plane, as well as buy fuel for a flight to DC. While in DC, Chuck stopped in with the IRS. Some clever accounting tricks pulled from the Intersect told Chuck how to lower the amount from almost $300 million down to forty million. The IRS put a lien on the CIA for the forty million dollars in back taxes that Sarah and Chuck owed for their Volkoff windfall. Chuck was excessively fond of the idea of the different governmental departments fighting over the seized money. State income tax would have been an issue, but Beckman managed make the wedding gift classified because its connection with Volkoff's illegal activities, so California would never know about it. She just had less power than the IRS.

There was still a chance to get a few extra million back from the CIA someday, but the truth was the money had already been spent. They'd have to wait in line behind the IRS for the next round of debt ceiling increases and spending approvals, probably after the election, maybe during a Congressional lame duck session.

After settling with the IRS, Chuck sold the plane to a lobbyist for a Super PAC. They seemed to have money to burn. The proceeds would help as start-up money for the new, safer Carmichael Industries. Chuck had just called to say his flight was taking off. In a few hours, Sarah would be picking him up at LAX. She couldn't wait for the airport reunion. She wasn't a spy anymore, so there was no reason to keep a low profile at the airport. Unfortunately, her lack of a CIA badge would keep her from bypassing security and meeting him at the gate. But she was still looking forward to the clichéd Hollywood style greeting.

In the meantime, Sarah tried returning to the files in front of her. Last night Sarah started a movie on the list Chuck gave her. She had trouble following it and started falling asleep after about thirty minutes. Her nerd education was definitely something that had to wait for Chuck. At least then she could snuggle with him if she didn't like the movie.

This morning she tried reading _Dune_. There were too many Middle East analogies, and the references to the Mahdi reminded her of some surveillance she did on a group of followers for a supposed Mahdi in Pakistan when she was a rookie agent. She didn't believe a comet was coming in 2026 like they did, and she wasn't sure about this book either.

Giving up on the book, she decided to review old background checks and mission files. She was going through Casey's first. She discovered Casey's copies when dismantling the surveillance over at Morgan and Alex's apartment. Casey gave her permission to read them at his last check-in. It was a good thing too. She read one of her own, but it was just too strange reading something in her own words that she didn't remember writing. The last thing she wanted was another emotional breakdown like she had with her video mission log/diary. Casey's reports gave her a level of detachment that let her fill in facts without the emotional baggage.

So far, the files had said very little about her and Chuck's relationship. Based on what she knew from the video log, either she and Chuck were really good at hiding their feelings—a skill she didn't think Chuck possessed—or Casey was covering for them in his reports. She had thought that Alex and Verbanski had softened up the Colonel. It was starting to look like Casey was a big softie at heart even when he was a Major. That didn't make his reports any less dry or boring. The mission stories were better when Chuck told them to her. He somehow knew how to restore the images in her head.

_BRRRRRRINNGGGGG!_

Chuck couldn't be at altitude already. Sarah wondered who else would have her new number. Morgan and Alex would just walk across the courtyard. Casey was on night stake-outs with Gertrude. With the time difference it would still be daylight where he was, so it wasn't him. Sarah hoped it wasn't Ellie. She'd overheard Chuck talking to Ellie since Sarah came home, but she wasn't ready to tackle that herself. Looking at the caller ID, it said Carmichael Industries. That ruled out Beckman and the CIA. They would say blocked call. Carmichael Industries phones were in Castle. That should be locked up.

_BRRRRRRINNGGGGG!_

Sarah answered, "Walker." She wondered if she went by Bartowski now. Her license said Walker, but maybe she hadn't updated it. She really needed to find out from Chuck.

"Um, hello? I was trying to call Chuck. Is he there?" the man on the phone asked.

"He's not here right now. This is... his wife speaking. You actually called my phone, not Chuck's."

"No, I'm sure I called Chuck's phone."

"He's in the air and his phone is turned off." That explained it. Chuck must have set up some kind of call forwarding system when his phone is off. It would have redirected through the Carmichael Industries satellite fooling the caller ID. She needed to get the login and password for that as well.

"I didn't know Chuck was still married."

"Of course he's still married. I was only gone two weeks for work! To whom am I speaking?"

"This is Big Mike."

"Ok, Mr. Mike, as I said previously, Chuck isn't here right now, so I'll tell him you called."

Sarah went to hang up when she heard a "Wait!"

Big Mike continued, "You're friends with John Casey, right? Do you know how I can reach him? His line has been disconnected."

"I'm not going to some random person the number for Casey's secure line, especially while he's on a mission. You'll have to get it from Chuck when he gets back. Or you could try Morgan. However, Casey won't be available for a few weeks."

"A mission? What? Oh never mind. I always figured it would be useless to talk to you."

"Excuse me?"

"No offense, blondie, but I wouldn't expect a woman of the night like yourself to know what to do in a crisis. You didn't do so well last time."

"What did you call me?"

"Blondie."

"No. The other thing."

"Oh, you know a street walker, a high priced call girl, a hustler, a—"

"It's Sarah Walker, not street walker! You thought I was a prostitute!?" Sarah exclaimed.

"Not a first. We all thought Chuck just hit the karmic lottery. But after seeing your burned wieners, your nasty yogurt, and your expensive cars, that was the theory that made the most sense. Then the yogurt shop closed, and you started dropping by the store wearing a lot of leather." Sarah looked down at her outfit: unzipped black coat over a black shirt, black leather pants, and black high heeled boots. Since she was going over mission files, she put on mission attire for the day. She thought it would get her into the right mindset and help her stop obsessing about Chuck.

In a flash, Sarah remembered something. "For your information, Mr. Mike—"

"It's Big Mike."

"I wouldn't know about that and wouldn't care to speculate. You don't seem to know that I'm the person that ended the Buy More Christmas hostage situation with a bullet between the eyes."

"What are you talking about? The Buy More model and I tackled him."

Sarah had no idea who the Buy More model was supposed to be. "You tackled the decoy, not the senior enemy agent who was posing as LAPD." Sarah hoped she was right. She was trying to defend her credibility.

"My brother would have told me something about that. He's a cop."

"He wouldn't have had clearance. Either Casey or I would have been the classifying agent. But that's beside the point. Didn't Jeff and Lester tell you that Casey, Chuck, Morgan, and I are former NSA and CIA agents?" Sarah searched through some files on the table in front of her.

"My son-in-law Morgan? You might be the finest looking woman this side of Vegas, but now I know you are one crazy—"

Sarah found the file she was looking for. "Michael Tucker, former manager of the Burbank Buy More. Demoted for dereliction of duty—fishing instead of doing his job."

"Chuck could have told you—"

"Social security number 078-05-1120. Had an affair with Poppy Tang."

"Hey, how did you—"

"Listen, Mr. Tucker. I really don't have time for this. I'm still working through my memory loss problems, and I have several dozen mission files to review. I'll let Chuck know you called."

"Wait! Are you really a CIA agent?"

"Retired." Surprisingly, Sarah liked the sound of that.

"Maybe you can call in some reinforcements then. I tried 9-1-1 and a few other numbers, but Chuck's is the only one that worked."

"That's because it's connecting directly to a satellite ground station below the Buy More. It operates on a different frequency and would not be affected by cell phone jammers." At least that was Sarah's experience with how CIA communication relay stations worked. She assumed Carmichael Industries got their hands on what would have been cutting edge technology five years ago.

"Oh. Well, since you can call the outside world, please have them send everyone to the Burbank Buy More. We are under attack!"

"You're just telling me this now." Sarah covered her face and exhaled deeply. "Where are you?"

"I'm hiding in the old assistant manager's closet where you and Chuck used to sneak off to do your personal things together."

"That doesn't help me." Sarah got up and lifted the sofa cushions, pulling out her Smith and Wesson handgun and two flash bangs. Somehow she just knew they would be there. The location made the most sense for the 30 foot rule. She also grabbed Chuck's tranq gun. "Listen very closely. Stay wherever you are and don't be a hero. I'm getting some assistance and will be there as soon as I can. Walker out." She hung up the phone.

Seconds later, Sarah pounded on Morgan and Alex's door. Alex answered. "Hi Sarah." She looked down and up Sarah's attire with wide eyes. "Whatever it is, Morgan didn't do it."

"I need his help." Her voice was steady. She was in mission mode.

Morgan popped out of nowhere. Sarah hadn't a clue where he had been hiding. She must have really scared him during her last visit. _Good_.

"What do you need Sarah? Name it." At least he sounded confident. He was smart for protecting himself, but bounced back immediately when the apparent threat was gone. He might be useful after all.

"Something is happening at the Buy More."

"Did you call Big Mike? They are closed for inventory today. Subway noticed some irregularities and got really suspicious when Herder 3 disappeared for a few days. It looks like some of the employees used the ownership change as cover for taking some things home. Everything from electronics to signs to toilet paper."

"He called me. He said they were under attack."

Morgan scooted behind the computer and pulled up Buy More surveillance. Sarah and Alex gathered behind him. Various feeds showed green shirts and nerd herders being rounded into the storage cage. Others showed equipment being wheeled in from the loading dock. The bad guys looked to be setting up in the home theater room.

Morgan voiced what Sarah already knew, "They are going after Castle."

"That has to be the worst kept secret spy base in the world," Alex said absently. Morgan and Sarah both looked at Alex. "What? The bad guys are always showing up there."

Sarah calmly said, "These guys are already heavily armed. We can't call local police. SWAT will spend too much time negotiating, allowing these guys to come out firing a Carmichael Industries arsenal. I have to get in there first to stop them."

"Looks like it's time to lock and load," Morgan stated with enthusiasm as he jumped up from his seat. Alex raced upstairs.

"No, Morgan. I can handle them alone, but I need you here to be my eyes."

"Sarah, we don't have comms here. We need to get into Castle before the bad guys do, and I can help you with that. I'm the one of us that remembers all of the exits and entrances."

Morgan had a point. "Ok, Morgan, you can come."

Alex returned, locking a clip into place in her Beretta and handing a tranq gun to Morgan.

Sarah stopped her. "No Alex. You're not coming. Your father would never forgive me if something happened to you."

"Who do you think trained me how to use this?" She waved the gun before tucking it into the back of her waistband. "And he knows not to mess with you since you threw him off a building." Alex smiled sweetly.

"I did what?"

"Do worry about it, Sarah," Morgan cut it. "We'll fill you in later. Although, you probably shouldn't bring it up to Casey. It was his idea, but he—"

Sarah interrupted Morgan's ramble. "Ok, you both can come. But Alex, take this instead." She traded Chuck's tranq gun for the Berretta, without protest from Alex. Sarah now had two guns,but she might need more. "Does Casey keep any more of weapons here?"

"He cleared most of it out and moved it to Castle," Alex said as Sarah instinctively went to the weapons locker in the front closet. Without a thought, Sarah punched in the security code. "Hey, you know that?" Alex asked.

"I think I just entered Nancy Reagan's birth date," Sarah muttered. "Doesn't matter. This is empty too."

Morgan piped in impatiently, "Let's go! We have a Buy More to save. Again."

"Time for one more mission," Sarah said.

Alex and Morgan both groaned.

"What?"

"Chuck really needs to get you caught up on the movie tropes," Morgan answered.

"I'll help shorten the required viewing list, but it actually is really important stuff," Alex added as they hurried out the door.

As Sarah tore off in her Lotus, she thought about the team in the car with her. Something seemed wrong about it. She realized the problem was it was Morgan and Alex instead of Chuck and Casey. Wishing the team that she barely remembered was with her instead, she hoped this team was up to the challenge.

* * *

A/N: There it is: the first ever conversation between Big Mike and Sarah.

Head's up. There's going to be a little less Charah for a bit. Chuck's stuck on a plane and is going to miss some of the fun. But while the dad's away, the mom and kids will play. Time to see how much trouble a bored and lovesick spy, a spy novice, and Morgan can get into.


	9. This can't be good

_Posted 16 Aug 2012_

* * *

_**Why do they call it a spy shop?**_

_**Only few minutes later**__**—**__**Sarah was driving (and wearing her seat belt)**_

* * *

Alex looked back at her list. She wasn't sure why Morgan sent her here. Bolt cutters could be found at the Large Mart, and this did not seem like the place for wire cutters. They should have stopped at Orchard Supply Hardware on way here. Grappling hooks? Was he serious? Alex wanted to help on this mission, but this was ridiculous.

Alex was concerned about the overall lack of a plan. Right now, the entire plan seemed to be that she would gather supplies and Sarah would take out all of the bad guys. There had to be a step or two she was missing.

They arrived so fast, Morgan barely had time to write down his wish list. Sarah spent the time asking about some disturbing photo she found on her phone. Alex was fairly certain nothing ever happened between Sarah and Casey, despite the picture. Morgan told her Chuck and Sarah were in love from day one, and all other potential suitors had been vanquished. But that didn't explain the picture of her dad handcuffed to a bed wearing his boxers that she couldn't unsee. Morgan looked up for his list making and said one word, "Carnia," as if that explained it. Sarah accepted the explanation without further question. Carina being involved with both her boyfriend and her dad was an even creepier thought. She didn't want to think about any of it too much.

That side conversation meant they didn't formulate a complete plan. Maybe spies worked better under pressure, but Alex was new to this and preferred a plan.

She suspected Sarah wasn't very focused and was unsettled because Chuck wasn't back from DC. Chuck and Sarah had been inseparable over the past week. They weren't screamers, but she heard several crashes and bangs coming the Bartowski apartment. Alex imagined they had been going at it like rabbits, not that she really wanted to know that either. She was simply happy for them. Still, she suspected Sarah was going through withdrawal. There was something in her eyes that reminded her of her dad when he got an itchy trigger finger. A plan might help Sarah focus, too.

This mission was really important, and not just because of the obvious reason of lives at stake. Alex had been trying to convince her dad to let her be a part of Carmichael Industries for a while. He had gruffly refused, probably trying to protect her. He wanted her to know how to shoot a wide variety of firearms, but he wouldn't let her be anywhere she might actually use them. Alex didn't want to be in the thick of things that much, but she figured there had to be some safe support roles. After all, she was kidnapped inside the Buy More. Running ops in the van had to be safer. How dangerous could staying in the car be? From the stories she'd heard, CI needed help bringing clients into the office without scaring them to death. She could help with that too. Not that she wanted to be a receptionist, but there had to be dozens of support roles she could fill. Now that CI was getting rid of the guns—or at least was trying to—it should be even safer. With her dad elsewhere, maybe the roadblock wouldn't be as fortified. Whatever her role, it had to be better than the string of temp jobs she'd had since she graduated.

And if things turned dangerous? Well, not only did Alex have firearms training from one of the world's greatest snipers, but even he didn't know she recently earned her black belt over at Victory Dojo and Fitness. Alex wanted to be ready if she ever got the call. Then again, he did take her out for a nice dinner the night after she passed her test. Maybe he knew, just like he knew about Morgan and her moving in together. Of course he knew. He probably overhead Sarah recommending the dojo a couple years ago.

_Laser cutting pen light? _There was no way they sold that here. Maybe she could get a full time job keeping Morgan's wilder ideas under control. Chuck must spend a lot of time dealing with them, so he'd probably appreciate the help.

The "spy shop" seemed to mostly contain high-end security systems, cameras, and motion sensors. They also had LoJack. Everything was a little better quality than what the Buy More offered. There was free installation, which would be the only thing that could justify these higher prices. Alex looked at the woman behind the sales counter and didn't expect much help there. She wore an unprofessionally short skirt and too much eye make-up. She was more interested in her cell phone than customer service. Alex couldn't really show her the list anyway.

Alex still hadn't found a single thing on the list and was about to give up when the door to the store opened with a ring. The irony of a high-end security shop with a tiny bell at the door was not lost on her. Coming through the door was none other than her often frustratingly sweet boyfriend.

"Hey, Alex. I've blocked off the parking lot entrance. It should keep the traffic down..." Morgan trailed off when he saw the frustrated look Alex was sending him.

"Morgan! What were you thinking with this list? This so-called spy shop is just a security store. It doesn't have anything from this list. We should have stopped at OSH and Big 5 on the way here."

Morgan looked around the aisles, a little surprised. "It looks like this store has sold out and gone mainstream. Sorry, I didn't know. They used to have a display over there with parabolic microphones, infrared glasses, and fence cutters. No wonder Lester was trying to get me to carry the stuff." Morgan took the list he wrote up for Alex and started mumbling quietly as he reviewed it. Handing it back he said, "I knew you wouldn't be able to get all of this. I just thought of three possible ways to breech Castle on the way over and figured we'd let the supplies make the decision for us. Maybe they still have the novelty section by the registers."

Alex thought he should have told her about his three plans before. Oh well. At least her mission failure wasn't her fault. She did so much better with Chuck's PANTS.

Alex walked up to the register and cleared her throat to get the attention of the sales clerk. Noticing Morgan was not at her side, she looked over her shoulder to see Morgan standing in the middle of the store, mouth gaping. Back in front of her, "Morgan Guillermo Grimes, what the hell are you doing in my store!?"

Alex turned to the clerk and saw the little Chinese woman, shorter now that she was off her stool, shooting a death glare at Morgan. It took a second. _Oh. This must be__—_

"A-Anna. I didn't know you worked here."

"I don't just work here. I'm the assistant manager of this reputable store, not like that zoo you assistant manage."

Morgan didn't deserve the attitude, especially not from this trollop. She's the one who cheated on him. Alex stood up for her man. "He hasn't been the assistant manager for a year and half. He was the manager until last week when the store was sold."

"Oh, he was fired. No surprise."

"No, he stepped down to focus on his other job." Alex really wanted to exercise her black belt skills.

"And who are you?" The glare that was previously leveled at Morgan was now directed her way.

Morgan stepped up to present a unified front. "Anna, this is my girlfriend, Alex. Alex, I'm sure you've figured out who this is."

"Count on one hand, huh?" Alex asked Morgan with a hand on her hip. It seemed like she was destined to meet all of Morgan's exes.

"I swear I had no idea she worked here. I haven't been here since I was granted access to the good stuff at Castle." Anna huffed, but Morgan continued without missing a beat. "The government-grade, classified stuff. I don't think there's anyone left anyway. Suzy was junior high—" Morgan held up his thumb.

"Chuck told me what she used to do to you," Alex said softly. No need for him to talk about beatings from a girl after gym.

"Ellie burned my prom date." He added a finger.

"My dad told me about that when you broke up with me."

"Does everyone know that story? Anyway, Hilda was an exchange student I met when visiting Chuck at Stanford, and she probably fled to Germany the next day. Carina you've met. And Bo Derek is in Federal prison, although I don't know for a fact anything happened with her. That was right before I was drugged and hid the glasses." He held up five fingers to Alex before pointing at Anna. "And that's it."

Alex was surprised at the reference to Bo Derek again. She thought he was over the Dale thing. Maybe there was something to that story. She'd have to ask Chuck. Not that she was worried about it. Morgan and she were in a good place right now. "And that's all there will ever be. Don't worry about it." She patted his hairy cheek.

"Good luck with that," Anna interjected. "It took months before I could get him to move in with me, and that's only because we were using my parent's place in Hawaii."

"He asked me last week."

"See how long that takes to actually happen."

Alex was barely holding back her angry-Casey center at Anna's smirk. Instead, she smiled and turned to Morgan. "What was it, Honey?"

"I think you moved in less than 24 hours later. Although we still have a few boxes of stuff to move from your mom's place after we finish moving your dad's stuff to storage."

Still smiling, Alex turned back to Anna, whose mouth had dropped open slightly. She obviously saw a different Morgan than Anna ever did. Maybe Morgan had grown up a little since then. Alex hoped he wouldn't grow up too much, though. She liked being the more mature one of the two of them, as a balance to the age gap.

Morgan's phone beeped. He pulled it out and read the text message. As he typed a reply, he explained the situation. "Kara's heading to Large Mart for supplies. The loading dock still has people going in and out. There are no sentries on the roof yet. So much for one of my plans. The auto sound system install garage is closed, but that door jams even when it's not locked. It's not a reliable entry point. They seem to think the locked front doors are sufficient."

"Kara?" Alex questioned.

"I figured we needed code names. I'm Cobra, of course. Kara is short for Kara Zor-El, aka Supergirl, because of the memory loss, blonde hair, and other obvious reasons. I didn't want to presume for you—"

"Mini-Case."

"Nice. Love it."

Anna couldn't keep her mouth shut, "You're playing superheroes. Don't tell me this is why the Buy More is closed. Don't you realize that it hurts all of the businesses in the plaza when you close?"

Alex mouthed to Morgan, 'She doesn't know?'

"No, Alex, I mean Mini-Case, but that is about to change. Anna, as I said before, I am no longer manager. They were doing inventory because of some 'inventory displacements' that occurred _after _I left. So file your complaints with the new interim manager, Big Mike. That is, if he survives the day. To that end, we need your help. Grab your install kit, close up shop, and come with us."

Alex jerked to look at her boyfriend. He was inviting his ex-girlfriend on the mission? _No way._ "Morgan—"

"It's Cobra, my sweet Mini-Case. No sentries on the roof means that entrance must be secured. The only remaining viable entry point is through the Orange Orange. That hasn't been used since the CIA pulled out. I can work my way around a computer, but I can't bypass the security pad. Sarah, I mean Kara, and I are no longer CIA. That means the satellite uplink has to remain disabled so the system thinks we still have clearance."

"Can't Sa-Kara do that?"

"I don't know. Chuck normally does that part, and I normally stay back. Even if she does the work, we need the tools, which as you pointed out, we can't buy here. Bringing the Madame Hydra along is the fastest way."

Alex struggled to contain her smile at Morgan's use of a comic book villain for his ex's code name. Unfortunately, he had a point about the other part.

"Look, I'm not going anywhere with you two for some stupid role playing game."

Time to pull out the big guns, literally, which Alex did. She pulled the tranq gun from her back waistband, placing it on the counter, with her hand covering it. It wasn't an overly aggressive posture, but who was she kidding? She inherited the Casey stare, and flourishing a weapon was, by definition, aggressive. Anna flinched and started to slowly shift to the left. "Don't even think about the security alarm," Alex threatened tightening her grip on her gun.

Alex was happy that Morgan wasn't rushing to defend Anna, although Anna's eyes were pleading with him for help. _It's only a tranq gun. Wu's a wuss._ Instead, Morgan fumbled while pulling out his own gun and went along with Alex's plan. "Look, Madame Hydra. This can go one of two ways. Option 1, you do as we say and come help us save lives. Carmichael Industries will pay you for your services. Option B, we shoot you with tranquilizer darts, take you supplies, and save the day ourselves. With that second option, you wake up in twelve to twenty-four hours with a headache and no memory of this conversation.

Alex grinned. "And an eviction notice from your landlord, the aforementioned, Carmichael Industries."

"That's right!" Morgan agreed.

Anna seemed to be in shock, focused on the gun Morgan had been gesticulating with during his threat. The funny thing was Morgan's gun was not loaded. He never kept it loaded in the apartment. Alex got hers from Sarah, so of course it was loaded, probably with the high dosage darts that worked on her dad and Jeff.

"Come on, Anna. Kara will be waiting for us."

That seemed to snap Anna out of it. "Kara is Sarah, right? You have Sarah in on this?"

"Who else do you think is going to be taking out the guys with the machine guns? Chuck and the big guy are out of town," Morgan stated as if it was obvious.

Anna shook her head quickly, as if to clear the haze. Alex saw something change in her expression. She wasn't frightened anymore. She didn't believe the guns were real. "Fine. But since I have to close the store, I'm charging double the hourly rate."

Morgan shrugged, "You'll have to take that up with our CFO."

Alex heard Anna mumble something like, "Yeah, right. Who's that? Chuck?" as she followed Anna to the back to make sure she didn't do something stupid, like call the police. After collecting her supplies they rushed out the door, in the direction of the Orange Orange.

* * *

A/N: Anna might be tough, but Alex is a CASEY.


	10. Any volunteers?

_Posted 17 Aug 2012_

* * *

_**Any more guest stars and someone will have to eliminate them. Any volunteers?**_

_**Mere seconds later**_

* * *

Anna locked the front of the shop, hoping she wouldn't get in trouble for this. They had no customers all morning and the Buy More lot was empty. At least this excursion would get some money coming in for the day. The plaza had been dead as a doornail all morning. Maybe she would stop at Sbarro on the way back.

Anna had only worked for the store a couple of months, but the owner, Nate, seemed very receptive to her ideas. First was the inventory change, getting rid of the questionable equipment that stalkers like those in Jeff and Lester's network would use. Instead they focused more on high-end security systems for cars and homes. They still had the nanny cams and GPS trackers, but they were sold as part of more complete security packages. The new strategy meant fewer customers, but those customers were higher class and spending a lot more money. Anna hoped he'd go for her next suggestion in a few months—a new storefront in Orange County that she could manage. It'd get her out of Burbank. That plan was still down the road. For now, she had to show Nate how profitable she could make a store that had previously been sustained by the bottom feeders of Burbank.

She looked for Morgan and his new _girlfriend_ and saw them running down the sidewalk, in the general direction of the Orange Orange. She wasn't dressed for running and was lugging the installation tools. She wasn't about to exert herself over some stupid game. While she was packing up, she gained some perspective and realized there was no way the guns were real. They were just really good replicas. Morgan liked all of that gaming/movie/comic book stuff. They were probably from some movie. And tranquilizer darts? Get real. This was all part of some over-the-top, live action role playing game. That's probably the real reason the Buy More was closed, too. As long as they paid, Anna didn't care. She could earn a few hundred bucks with less than an hour of work.

Anna figured she did need to hurry a little, because she was getting let pretty far behind. Suddenly, Morgan stopped, or rather, was stopped as he ran into a wall. The wall was in the form of Mighty Jock Mitt. Littered around them were the sandwich boxes Morgan had knocked loose. Part of her wanted to see Mitt punish Morgan, but deep down she didn't want to see him in the hospital. Anna resigned herself to the fact she was going to need to rescue Morgan, again.

When Anna finally reached the scene, Alex was helping a dazed Morgan to his feet. She snapped, "Watch it!"

"Who me? I'm not the one who is going to be cleaning up this mess and buying ten new sandwiches_._"

"Yeah right. Let's go, Morgan." Alex tugged on his arm.

"You're not going anywhere." Noticing Anna, "Oh, I see you have _two_ little girls to protect you now. Well, neither of you have a weapon this time, and I no longer have anything against fighting girls."

Anna saw Alex slowly move to the fake gun at the back of her waist. She was really going to have to pull off a heck of a bluff to get Mitt to back down from this opportunity at payback. Before Alex could make her move, Anna heard another voice.

"He doesn't need a weapon when she has me. And I don't have a problem hitting boys."

Anna looked on the other side of Mitt and saw Sarah Walker, her old 'friend.' The woman who hadn't spoken to her in years. The woman who didn't even invite her to her wedding. Sarah could have at least put in a good word with Morgan when Anna returned a couple years ago. But not only did she side with Morgan in the break-up, Anna heard that Morgan started dating one of Sarah's 'real friends,' some supermodel type. _So much for thinking of Morgan and me as the perfect couple. What's with the outfit, though? _She thought it was black ninja chic without the hood and mask. Anna liked the almost four inch heels on her boots and would've asked her where she got them, if they were still on speaking terms.

"Uh oh, it's the double-O girl. Now I'm scared." Mitt smiled his menacing, gap-toothed grin.

Even with Sarah's high heals, he had at least four inches on her and was probably twice the weight. Anna didn't really want Sarah hurt either, despite their alienation. _She better watch out._

"Morgan," Sarah asked, "is this guy a friend of Chuck's?"

"Nope. He's just the Buy More Plaza bully. Have at it." Morgan waved his hand towards Mitt as if he was presenting him to Sarah. Then Morgan and Alex took three steps backwards, in sync.

"Where do you think you are going? I said you are going to clean this up and buy new sandwiches, _for the next week_. Or do I have to smash in your bearded face?" Mitt threatened as he ground one fist into the open palm of his other hand.

Anna looked around for something she could use as a weapon. She really did need something hard and metal to help with someone the size of Mitt. Sarah suddenly _moved_.

Two quick jabs to the face dazed him. A kick to the side of the knee made him stubble sideways and start down. He was held up with a twist into a wrist lock that had him crying out in pain as he jerked forward. A knee up to the face had him staggering backwards. He was finished with high round house kick to the side of the head. He tipped and seemed to fall in slow motion. Morgan quickly stepped up and used one finger to direct him towards the sidewalk so he wouldn't fall through the glass of the shop's front door.

Anna gaped back at Sarah, who stood over her conquered foe with a look of slight disapproval, as if he wasn't enough of a challenge to waste her time. Anna remembered taking down Mitt quickly, but that was with a large metal tripod as weapon. It took some agile footwork to not get hurt. Sarah, on the other hand, wasn't even breathing hard. She didn't even need a weapon. She was the weapon.

Morgan reached over to Sarah with a fist, and she did the same did the same. Apparently, they had a private fist bump/hand shake/finger thing, although Sarah seemed a little confused at the result.

Looking at Mitt, Anna noticed something. "Your kick didn't cut his face," she murmured.

"Hard to run with a broken heel," Sarah explained. "Who is she?" Sarah asked Morgan, nodding her head to indicate Anna.

Before he could answer, the door to the shop opened, revealing the brown-haired proprietor. Morgan's eyes opened wide.

"What is going on here? Oh my God! I always thought you were crazy after you threatened me, Sarah. This only confirms it. I'm calling the cops."

Morgan immediately flapped his hands at the woman, trying to get at her phone. She pulled it back to her shoulder, only to have Alex step around and snatch it away. "Give it to Sarah," Morgan instructed.

"Why?" Alex asked as the handed the Blackberry to Sarah.

She didn't need an answer. Sarah dropped it to the ground, crouched to a knee, pulled a knife from her boot, spun it in her hand, smashed the butt end into the phone, replaced the knife, and stood—all in a seamless motion.

Morgan explained, "Chuck told me Sarah as a knack for destroying phones."

"I can see that." Alex smiled.

The woman was angry, "That's my phone! My whole life was on that phone!"

Morgan said matter-of-factly, "You really should make back-ups. If you let us go about our business, we'll rescue the Nerd Herd, and maybe they can retrieve some of your data. Though, that phone does really look like a mess."

"Tony!" She called back into her shop. "Call 9-1-1." It looked like the deli owner didn't buy the story. She must not be familiar with the LARP games that were apparently organized out of the Buy More. Or she was really upset about her phone.

"Morgan, who is she?"

"Sarah, this is Lou, owner of this shop," Morgan answered.

Tony stepped behind Lou in the doorway, fumbling to get out his phone. He was an older, bulky guy, but a lot smaller than Mitt. He wouldn't stand a chance against Sarah unless he went back inside and got a meat cleaver.

"So you're her landlord," Morgan added.

Lou started to argue, "No! I'm leasing from a Carmi—"

"Is she a friend of Chuck's?"

Anna realized who else Lou was and remembered that's what Sarah asked about Mitt. _This woman is so dead. They're going to need a bag to collect the parts._

"Well, no, not really, um."

"Morgan?" Sarah impatiently prompted.

"She'sChuck'sExGirlfriend."

"Alex, give me your gun." Tony stopped dialing, in shock from what Sarah just said.

"No, Sarah. She's not the traitor one. This one only went out with Chuck twice, and one of the times was an undercover mission to get intel on the guy smuggling the Bryce Larkin bomb into the country. She also used to smuggle meat." Morgan rushed his explanation. None it made sense to Anna.

"Alex, give me your gun."

Morgan's girlfriend hesitated. "Sarah. I'm not so sure."

"Alex, give me your gun because at this range, my gun will blow a large exit wound out the back of her head." Sarah brandished her gun.

Alex quickly traded weapons with Sarah. Anna wondered why it mattered which fake gun Sarah used. _Cool imagery though._

Lou did not know when to keep her mouth shut. "What are you, some crazy FDA agent like that other guy?"

That confused Sarah for a second, but Alex just laughed. "He told you he was an FDA agent, and you believed him? He's not that good of liar."

"No need." Sarah put one in Lou's neck, and she went straight down. Tony dropped, and probably broke, his phone. Sarah was good at breaking phones. She didn't even need to touch them. Before Tony's shock could wear off, Sarah put two in his chest. For good measure, she put two more in Mitt to ensure he wouldn't be getting up for a while.

"Quick, grab the bodies," Sarah said. "We need to pull them inside." Sarah and Morgan pulled in Tony first. Alex dragged in Lou. Anna just stood there trying to figure out if she should call the police. She didn't want to get herself shot.

The three returned each taking one of Mitt's limbs. "Hey, you. Grab an arm," Sarah ordered. Anna chose to play along for now. She really needed to find a way out of this mess.

Morgan and Alex proceded to kick in the sandwich boxes and Alex flipped the deli's sign over to Closed. Once everyone was inside, Sarah asked Morgan, "Who is this and is she a friend of Chuck's?"

Not waiting for Morgan, Anna protested, "Yes, I'm a friend of Chuck's! I used to be your friend too, Sarah. Don't you remember?"

Sarah had her gun down at her side, waiting for confirmation from Morgan. "Sarah, this is Anna Wu, my ex-girlfriend. Anna, Sarah had her memory erased about three weeks ago, and she still has some gaps."

"Do you want me to shoot her too?"

"Yes, but you really shouldn't," Morgan said.

"Maybe later," Alex added.

Morgan circled his head in a complicated, almost figure eight pattern that was somewhere between a nod of agreement and a shake to disagree. "We need her to get past Orange Orange security. Chuck's not here, Jeff and Lester are in Germany, and the rest of the Nerd Herd is being held captive. Anna used to be in the Herd."

Sarah's brow furrowed. "I thought you helped with tech ops."

"I can run cameras or do a database search, but I stay away from wiring. My beard collects a lot of static, and it can go bad... very bad."

"Whatever, let's go."

"Wait just one second!" Anna said. Everyone stopped and looked at her. Morgan looked frustrated, Sarah impatient, and Alex was glaring. "I want to know what is going on!"

"She didn't know?" Alex asked Morgan.

"She ran off with the sous chef before I was recruited. When she came back, I was too busy with the CIA to waste my time with her two-timing drama."

"Did you say CIA?"

Sarah took over the explanation. "Anna, we don't have time for this. Morgan and I are ex-CIA and a bunch of dangerous people are holding everyone at the Buy More captive while trying to break into our base, that contains a lot of weapons. We have to get there first so we can rescue everyone. Now let's go."

"You're CIA? Everyone said you were a high-priced call girl who fell for Chuck. Not that there's anything wrong with that profession. A girl has to make a living. You were like a real life _Pretty Woman_, except Chuck's not rich." Sarah ignored the comment and ran out of the deli shop. Alex followed her. Anna turned to Morgan, "I thought she was my friend."

Morgan shrugged, "I think she was protecting Chuck from your loser boyfriend who was involved in a plot to kill the Taiwanese Ambassador." He took off out the door of the sandwich shop.

_Did Morgan mean Jason? _Anna looked down at the three bodies on the floor. _This wasn't a game. Something real was happening over at the Buy More. No, it couldn't be. Memory loss, dart guns, and rich character back stories? No, this is just really detailed, very intense, but still lame, LARP. It had to be. _Anna figured either these people on the floor were in on in, or this role playing game was bordering on the she wanted to get paid, she was going to have to go with them. And they said they wouldn't shoot her. Her decision made, she hurried as fast as she could to the Orange Orange.

* * *

A/N: Let's all savor the fact that being one of Chuck's ex-girlfriends is not one of the safest thing to be on a résumé right now. Sarah doesn't have the context, so in her mind, there is no excuse.

Chuck is coming back soon.


	11. We need a plan

_Posted 18 Aug 2012_

* * *

_**Girlfriend and the ex, that's a bad plan.**_

_**A superhero, a spy wannabe, a bearded troll, and a kidnapped nerd walk into a yogurt shop… **_

_**Mere seconds later**_

* * *

Morgan reached the Double-O just after Alex. He was surprised Sarah wasn't already inside. "Why didn't you just smash your way in?"

"This was a CIA base entrance, right? The glass would be bullet proof," Sarah explained as she finished picking the lock. That didn't take much longer than window shattering and was a lot cleaner. "Now where?"

"Freezer." Morgan slid by and led the way behind the counter and through the door to the back.

Sarah immediately went to the security panel, carrying a LargeMart-branded bag of tools. Morgan suspected that there wasn't a receipt in the bag. As expected, the security panel had no power. The room was dark, so Morgan found the circuit breaker panel behind a wheeled storage rack and turned on all of the switches except the second to last one, which controlled the security panel and Castle entrance lock. When Anna arrived, Alex brought her to the back with a disapproving scowl. Morgan left Anna and Sarah to work and went out to the screen behind the yogurt counter, where the computer was booting up. In the other room, he heard the high-pitched whirl of some kind of power saw.

What was he thinking, bringing Anna along on the mission? It's all Chuck's fault. Since Chuck wasn't here, they needed tech support. As Michael Carmichael, Morgan should be filling in for Chuck on this mission, but he lacked that vital part of the skill set. It's not like Anna could come up with the plan, though, so that was still his job. That made Morgan an Intersect-less half-a-Chuck. Sarah was still Sarah, and Alex was a Casey. They'd be ok. Wait. If he was Chuck and Sarah was Sarah… That didn't work so well last time. The real Chuck had to save them and jump out a window onto the roof of a van. Maybe Alex should be Sarah. That would make Sarah the person filling in as Casey. Then Alex and he would be paired up. Yeah, that sounded good. But what if—

"Morgan, you're spiraling." Morgan startled as Alex stepped behind him, wrapping her arms around him and resting her chin on his shoulder. "What are we looking at? Ant races?"

"Security cameras for the Buy More. They're all snow because it looks like this system was never connected with the new system after the Buy More was rebuilt."

"So that's why you're spiraling?"

"No. It's about what role I—we—have in this mish."

"Ah. Am I Casey or Sarah?"

"I love how much you get me."

Alex reached up and scratched his beard. "So…"

"That's what I'm worried about. I feel like I should be Chuck, but that would make you Sarah, and Sarah should really be Sarah."

"So why can't I be Casey? I do have Casey genes."

"The last time Sarah and I paired up, Chuck had to rescue all of us, even your dad. This was back when I was being a douche."

"You're not now, so don't worry about it. You could just be yourself on this mission. You know, Cobra."

"That's sweet, but there are _lives_ at stake here!" Morgan felt himself beginning to spiral again.

"_The Avengers_ is coming out in a few months. Maybe we could be Avengers. You'd be Bruce Banner, perfectly sweet unless you fell under the wrong influence. Sarah would be Black Widow. And I would be… Hmm…"

"Agent Maria Hill, the one who's going to be played by Cobie—"

"You're kidding me," Anna interrupted. "You actually engage him in his ridiculous debates? Your funeral. Just don't get him talking about sandwiches."

"Why would that be a problem? We are in complete agreement about the appropriateness of cold cuts in a tropical region," Alex countered. There was a hint of aggressiveness in her voice despite her big close-mouthed smile.

Morgan decided to step in before things got out of hand. "Anna, shouldn't you be helping Sarah?"

She shrugged. "She didn't seem to need my help."

Sarah joined the group. "I have years of experience breaking through high security doors and vaults. Disabling the antenna simply required cutting through the wall with a jigsaw and cutting a single wire."

_Oops._ Maybe he shouldn't have dragged Anna along. He forgot that Sarah could do anything, even five years ago.

"I've activated the panel," Sarah said, "but I need your help on the next part. My retina scan is still in the local database, but I don't remember my code."

"Oh great. Here I'm supposed to be Chuck on this mission, but I don't know how to hack your security code. Maybe Anna—"

"Morgan, it's ok. Chuck probably knows it. It's probably the day we met or my birthday or something. It doesn't matter. I doubt anyone else could hack it fast enough. However, didn't you have clearance to this part of the base?"

Sarah had a point. "Oh yeah… One retina scan and security code coming up."

Morgan hurried to the door to be scanned. Of course he remembered his code: 3263827. It was a good thing his movie memories were fully restored. A moment later, they were descending into Old Castle.

"For the record, Morgan, I'll just be Sarah on this mission. I'm not planning on being a widow any time soon."

"Sorry, Sarah. You're right. It's not a very good Avengers name anyway because you and Chuck captured the real Black Widow a few years back, before I was on the team. Although, I wonder if the real Black Widow got her name from the Marvel one."

"Why not from the spider?" Anna asked with a hint of sarcasm.

"Nerd education later, Morgan. Where to?" Sarah asked.

Anna didn't back down, "Because _this dump _is a storage room, not some secret spy base."

Morgan looked up at the ceiling and shook his head. If Anna only knew what this place was like in its heyday. Sure, the new Castle was way cooler. It was further underground for security, and it was nice that they could take an elevator or a slide to get there instead of hoofing it down a long hallway or hurrying across a parking lot. Regardless, the country's security was saved many times in this very room. There should be a monument or something.

Morgan led the group through the main room, which no longer contained computer screens or even a table, past the empty armory and open holding cells, and around the corner to the main hallway.

"There's no way I'm going that far in these heels," Anna complained.

Sarah was already jogging down the hall in her boots. Alex wordless opened the nearby storage closet. Morgan heard the slight hum of a little electric engine and complained, "Head start! No fair!"

"Then you better get a move on," Alex called back as she backed out of the closet on a Segway. She started down the hall, as Morgan and Anna each took another one.

"Do you know how to—"

"Yes, Morgan!" Anna snapped. "Now get out of my way!"

Morgan and Anna backed out of the closet and took off to catch Sarah and Alex. Morgan closed the distance rather easily. He'd like to think it was because of his superior skills honed from countless races with Chuck and later Alex, but actually it was because Alex was looking over her shoulder, taunting him with an evil grin. Sarah still beat them to the new Castle. It was further underground than the old one, so her run was downhill. It's not like the Segways went that fast anyway.

Morgan went to work powering up the lights and computers, while Alex and Anna parked their transports out of the way. Sarah looked over at the electric vehicles and observed, "Our business wasn't very successful. Was it?"

"Chuck and I bought the Segways after we got into trouble for making too much noise with the pinball machine. These kept us out of the way of the 'Angry One.' We purchased three so you could race us too, but then we lost all of our money to the 'Exploded One', you and Chuck got more serious about the business. So they weren't used much until I showed them to Alex when I was trying to win her back."

Morgan had rapid fired the explanation and like was often the case, he couldn't tell if Sarah disapproved, didn't hear, or didn't care. She did at least wait until he finished before heading to the armory. Chuck had told Morgan she was mostly back. Morgan wasn't sure. He wanted his friend back. The one he had the secret handshake with. The one who quirked her smile and looked like she wanted to race Segways despite complaining about the cost. Sometimes the old Sarah shined through. Maybe she just missed Chuck.

Sarah called out to Morgan as the other two women joined him at the central terminal. "Do we have defenses?"

Morgan projected his voice so she could hear him, "We used to have them up top. Mounted machine guns and everything. The CIA removed then when they moved out. They weren't too effective anyway. The first chance you got to use them, they were hacked and disabled. We still have some down here but some were damaged when the bombs went off. Others stopped working after they were frozen."

"Sounds like Carmichael Industries should have designed the security instead of the CIA," Alex suggested.

Sarah called back, "Just give me eyes on the targets and a way in." Maybe she was just in mission mode.

Anna stopped holding her tongue, "No wonder the Buy More is doing inventory. You guys stole all of this and moved it down here."

"Sorry to burst your bubble, but even your little security equipment business doesn't sell white-noise cancelling parabolic mics, cameras that record visible and infrared at high resolution through walls, and video switching that lets me spread all of that across monitors with the wave of my hand." Despite Morgan's theatrics, he actually divided the camera feeds across the monitors with a few key strokes. "It can't be stealing when Chuck and Sarah owned the Buy More anyway." That seemed to shut Anna up as she tried to process what she had heard.

Morgan flipped through the surveillance cameras, identifying a sentry at the front, a sentry at the back, four menacing people working in the home theater room, and guard in front of a cramped cage full of green shirts and nerd herders. They were too spread out for Sarah to take them alone. This was his moment. He needed a plan.

Sarah joined them at the table, completely geared up in a tactical vest with smoke and flash-bang grenades. She had a several knifes and hand guns mounted on her leg straps and belt.

"Um, Sarah. I thought you were going to be Sarah. You look more like Casey," Morgan said.

Anna laughed, "John Casey, the angry burnout green shirt who played army guy on the weekend."

Alex's eyes narrowed. "No, the ex-marine national hero. One of the world's greatest snipers. My father!"

Anna released another abrupt laugh. "You're John Casey's daughter?" She pointed to Morgan, "You're dating John Casey's daughter? Yeah right. He'd kill you first."

Sarah took over. "Anna, you need to be quiet now. As I said earlier, Morgan is ex-CIA. From what I've been told, he was dating Alex before he moved out of Chuck's and my home and moved in with Casey, so obviously he approves. You have two choices. One: Sit quietly and wait to see if Morgan's plan needs your help—"

"We could use her as a diversion or a human shield," Alex suggested.

Sarah leveled a serious look at Alex which quieted her immediately. "Or Two: I let Alex lock you up in one of our holding cells." The second option had Alex smirking and Anna wide-eyed and mute. "Morgan, what's my entrance point?"

_This is it. Pressure time. Time to save the day. Diversions… decoys… dead bodies everywhere… No, those would be plan D. Need a plan A, maybe a plan B, or multiple plan A's. Not a plan D._

Everyone waited patiently. Alex rubbed her hand down Morgan's arm for comfort.

The middle screen switched from the live security feed to Chuck. It was a close shot, so it was hard to determine where he was.

"Hey guys. I got an alert that someone had broken into Castle. The alarm on my phone startled the air marshal sitting across the aisle, so I thought it best I head into the bathroom before he overheard what I thought might be happening. What's going on?" Chuck was trying to sound casual, but still looked concerned.

The brilliance in Sarah's smile after seeing Chuck on the screen dropped. "We tripped a security alarm? I thought we got into Castle undetected."

"It's not really an alarm, but when the computers fire up, they send an alert status to my phone. I added it to the BIOS, so there's really no way to bypass. You did a great job breaking in, Honey. So why are you all in Castle?"

Chuck was grinning again, and Morgan noticed Sarah's big smile had returned. The second honeymoon period was clearly not over. It reminded him of how they were right before Sarah moved in. If love eyeballs were weapons, this mission would already be over.

Morgan cut in, "Sorry to interrupt, but we have bad guys in the Buy More trying to break into Castle."

"Again?" Chuck groaned.

"How often did this happen?" Sarah asked.

"I can think of at least eight, wait, no at least ten times we've had bad guys at the Buy More."

Morgan said, "This time they are after the weapons cache instead of you, your mom, or a list of doubles. I don't know why they came now."

Chuck sighed. "That might be my fault. I put a notice on the CI web site saying we a scouting for another location. It asked people to sign up for an email or text alert when we open our new office and are accepting clients again. I was trying to generate buzz about our new company direction and to build up a contact list. But considering how many rouge spies seem to know about our cover location, it might have inadvertently been a sign that we are vulnerable."

"We're spies that advertise on the Internet?" Sarah asked.

"We're the spies that care," Chuck answered. "Caring unfortunately doesn't mean we don't screw up occasionally."

"Don't be so hard on yourself, Sweetie. This bad guyery stuff seems like my responsibility. I've been dropping the ball the last few weeks."

"Wow, you all really get into your role playing," Anna interrupted.

"Um, what is Anna doing in Castle?" Chuck just seemed to notice her.

"Good question," Alex mumbled.

"It seemed like a good idea at the time," Morgan justified, "but she still doesn't seem to realize that this is all real. I think she's in shock or denial or something."

"She's still annoying," Alex added.

"Anyway, it's just us, and we need a plan to breach the Buy More, take out the bad guys, and save everyone else."

Chuck tilted his head and thought for a few seconds. "What about a Marcus Maneuver?"

"They're too spread out."

"Fibonacci feint?"

"You know I never thought that would work."

"You're right. It shouldn't be tested for the first time in the field. Winchester's Last Stand?"

"Do you really think I should have a real gun?"

"Duh, what was I thinking? You should use a multiple layered approach."

"That's that I was thinking."

"What's your idea?"

"A Domino's Delivery, a Hanging Hunt, and a Wookie, all teed up with a Lollipop, of course."

"Oooh! Good call! What about the—"

"I'll be using the Deuce."

Chuck nodded in an approving manner. "All that strategizing we did paid off. Sarah, Alex, you are both in good hands. I'll see you when I get back. Sarah, we'll probably have to stage that airport reunion some other time. Love you. And everyone, stay safe."

"Love you too, Chuck," Sarah said before Chuck clicked off. Her smile immediately dissolved into a serious expression. She was back in mission mode.

Everyone returned their focus to Morgan, but this time, with Chuck's reassurance, he was ready.

"Sarah, you're going to need to change. We know you're not shy, but the locker room is down that hall, first door on the left. Your outfit should be in the…" Morgan looked up absently and counted with his finger in the air, "…third cabinet, second shelf down. You'll know it when you see it."

"Alex, you can go lock up Anna."

"Hey!" Anna protested.

Morgan ignored her. "You were right. She's not going to be any help. Best keep her out of the way."

"You are all going to be arrested! None of this game is legal! You can't just go around shooting people and locking them up! I didn't sign a waiver!"

Alex smiled and quickly twisted Anna's arm into a lock behind her back. "Your choices have changed. Be quiet and go with me to a holding cell, get tranq'ed and dragged to a holding cell, or let Sarah show you how the real guns with the real bullets work." Anna shut up, and Alex successfully steered her to the cells.

When Alex and Sarah returned, Morgan had already gathered the gear they would need. "Ok, here's the plan."

* * *

A/N: Quick! Think of ten times bad guys have been in the Buy More.

All of those plans are 'real' except for the Fibonacci Feint, because it is unproven. The Marcus Maneuver is from _Babylon 5_ "Exogensis." Winchester's Last Stand is from _Shaun of the Dead_. The others… You'll have to read the next chapter.


	12. Do they really stand a chance?

_Posted 19 Aug 2012_

* * *

_**Do they really stand a chance?**_

_**It really doesn't matter how much time has passed. The bad guys STILL haven't breached Castle.**_

* * *

**Sarah**

Morgan finished laying out the plan. Sarah thought it was a good plan. It should work.

"Any questions?" he asked.

"Is this the right way to wear this?"

Morgan really looked at Sarah for the first time since she returned from the locker room. He didn't respond.

After a moment, Alex placed her hand under Morgan's jaw and pushed up. "You'll have to pardon my boyfriend. Normally, the shirt is tucked in."

"It didn't reach. A little skin was showing, so I figured I might as well tie it off."

"Yeah, you're a little taller than the normal female Nerd Herder." Sarah moved to untie the shirt, but Alex stopped her. "Don't worry about it. It'll help what you are trying to do."

"I found one of Chuck's ties," she pointed to the grey tie with its knot lowered along the low V-line of her thin white shirt, "and this lanyard," she held it up, "but I don't have a badge."

Morgan rejoined the conversation. "I think you have one in the cover ID cabinet."

"I worked in the Nerd Herd? I thought I only worked in the Wienerlicious and Orange Orange."

"I think you used the cover on a mission once. Plus Chuck liked it when you dressed u—ow!" Morgan stopped when Alex swatted him on the arm.

"I'm sure Sarah can ask Chuck about their recreational activities later. Sarah, don't worry about the badge. They won't notice."

Sarah cocked her head and shrugged in agreement. She reached through the V-neck and adjusted the hidden switch blade, the only weapon she would have in this plan.

* * *

**Anna**

Anna couldn't believe her day. If she didn't reopen the store by the time Nate came in this evening, forget the idea of having her own store in Orange County. She'd be fired.

_Morgan's new girlfriend was freakishly strong. _

After a few minutes of yelling, she gave up. They weren't going to listen to her. She wondered if there was still some resentment after Hawaii. It's not like she was still with that loser either. He blew her off three times when she came back a couple years ago. They had to be even by now.

_At least I have a TV in this room._

Anna found the remote and turned it on. To her disappointment, it was stuck on a security feed of the Nerd Herd desk. Maybe she'd get to see her ex, his girlfriend, and her former friend lose this stupid role playing game. If it happened quickly, they could let her out and pay her for her time. To keep her from calling the police, she was charging three times the hourly rate.

* * *

**Alex**

Crawling through the ducts carrying the harness was hard work. Unfortunately, most of the distance was vertical from the underground base to the ducts above the back room hallways. She was in position, hopefully getting there fast enough.

She had a minute or two after the plan was set into motion before her specific tasks started, so she signaled Morgan on her comms. Now she just needed get the rig and harness secured fast enough.

* * *

**Morgan**

Everything was falling into place. Anna had stopped yelling. Sarah was in position. Alex said she was ready. The controls he was using worked like a dream. Morgan felt a little guilty putting his girlfriend in harm's way while he quarterbacked from Castle, but she didn't know the systems like he did. Providing a lookout for Sarah was vital because she would be doing the heavy lifting, and Alex seemed to relish getting into the action. Maybe there was a little too much Casey in her.

* * *

**The Lolli Plan**

Sarah pushed out the lockers and carefully stepped into the break room. _So far, so good._ Now that she was inside the store, undetected, she could walk straight out onto the sales floor. She only had to get into character. Mussing up her hair helped. She put the prop, a cherry sucker, in her mouth.

The guard at the front was looking outside and was bored. No one else seemed to be in the main room. She moved across the room to the Nerd Herd desk, it would provide a central vantage point and good cover for later. Morgan told her on her comms that the two in the back and by the cage hadn't moved. The other four were still in the home theater room. She could hear a drill and a raised voice. It wasn't going well for them, and whoever was in charge was getting frustrated. One of them wanted to just blast the wall, but the other was worried about a chain reaction with countermeasure explosives that might be behind the wall.

Sarah could barely believe she made it all the way to the desk without getting detected. These guys were incompetent. Too bad their MP5K's were real. She was half tempted to try walking up behind the guy at the front and just take him out. That wouldn't help with the two in the back by the hostages, though. She'd have to get this guy's attention somehow once she found another prop.

She looked under the counter and found one option that was too disgusting. Some more searching revealed another prop she could use. The noise in the home theater room had quieted, giving her a window of opportunity. Leaning over, she put her hand up on the counter for balance, deliberately hitting the bell.

In a flash of memory, she remembered another hand on top of hers—Chuck's hand. _When was that? Was that why she was hesitant with the bell when she came back?_

"Don't move!"

_Stop getting distracted. It's show time._

"Hands in the air!"

Sarah squatted on her heels, elbows bent, hands by her face, sucker in one hand. The thug was behind her.

"Get up and turn around!"

She obeyed, putting a surprised and frightened look on her face.

"Where did you come from? Where have you been?"

"Please don't hurt me! I was just in the back with my boyfriend, Chuck."

"There was someone else with you? Where in the back? Where is he?"

"I wore him out. He has fantastic endurance, but even he sometimes has limits." Sarah ducked her head and blushed.

"I said, 'Where is he?'"

She moved the sucker to her tongue and licked it. He was distracted by her mouth now. "He's still back in the storage closet. Please don't hurt him."

The thug called on his radio. They knew where the locked storage closet was and had probably assumed it was empty. As expected, they rotated the guard from the cage, assuming the prisoners were secured.

"This way!" he ordered Sarah. He motioned with his gun towards the doors that led to where the other hostages were. That wasn't Sarah's job. She needed to stall so Morgan could make his move.

Sarah rolled the sucker at her lips. "Can I at least get what I was looking for? You can't make me sit with those losers in my current condition. It's so uncomfortable." Sarah whined with the ditsiest voice she could manage. She kicked a hip out to the side. That worked. He was focused on her bare midsection.

"Whatever. Hurry."

Sarah bent over and looked around, taking her time. She could practically feel his eyes on her backside. From her periphery, she could see another thug join her captor. Morgan informed her that he was from the home theater room. That would help with the plan.

"Goran, what's going on?" Thug #2 asked. "Stop staring at the view and put her with the others."

"She was in the back doing the nasty with her boyfriend. Bojan is getting him now. She's looking for something," Goran explained.

The second one crouched on the other side of the end of the counter to see for himself. Very quickly he found something. He pulled it out. "Is this it?" he said with a grin. "Are you not wearing any of your own?"

Sarah knew what it was without looking, but she glanced up and groaned anyway. "Of course not. That's a guy's thong anyway." She wondered if it was Lester's or Jeff's, but really didn't want to think about it too much.

The thug yelped and threw the offending garment across the floor. Sarah got a signal in her earpiece, so she pulled out what she was 'looking for.' "There it is! My lint roller." Sarah stood up and smiled enthusiastically as she brushed it along her skirt. She was acting like someone who didn't know how to behave with a gun pointed at her. It worked. Neither idiot had his gun raised.

The thugs were distracted with a piece of candy. Suckers.

_Come on, Morgan! It's time!_

* * *

**The Domino's Delivery Plan**

Morgan floored it. _No, that's not the right term._ Morgan pushed the joystick all the way forward. _That didn't sound as cool._ Morgan sticked it. _Good enough._

Nerd Herder #2, aka the Deuce, darted through the parking lot towards its target. The remote control harness had been removed by the CIA from Herder #3 a few days ago. What the CIA didn't know was Chuck had retrofitted the Deuce with its own remote control. Chuck had used it as a test platform to increase the range and responsiveness of the controls. He wanted to be able control it through the satellite from hundreds of miles away. They both secretly hoped to run Herder races someday. That never happened because it wouldn't have been a fair contest. Herder #3 had a supercharged engine and sport suspension that easily compensated for the extra weight of the armor plating and bullet proof glass. It would always win.

The Deuce hit the curb in front of the store at full speed. The bumper crashed off and jammed under the front wheels, greatly slowing the advance, but not enough to matter. Unlike #3, the Deuce wouldn't be able to breach the bullet proof front doors with their steel and titanium reinforced frames.

The Deuce crashed into the front doors which as expected, did not budge. Both airbags deployed. The back of the Herder reared up and fell back to the ground.

One distraction delivered, 30 seconds or less.

* * *

**The Pop Plan**

Both thugs looked to the crash at the front doors, and Sarah didn't hesitate. She dropped the sucker, pulled her knife out, and hit the first one in the front of the left shoulder. Spinning away from the gun in his right hand and around his back, she put the wounded man between her and the other one. Her shield started to drop, so she supported him and knocked the gun out of his hand. The other man raised his gun and fired, putting several bullets in his partner, but leaving Sarah untouched. She pulled the knife from the now dead man's shoulder and threw it at her attacker's thigh. His leg gave way, causing him to fire toward the ceiling as he yelled in pain.

Sarah used the distraction to drop her shield and claim his gun. She used the butt end to jab the remaining guard in the neck before swinging back and crushing him across the face.

Both foes vanquished, she pulled the weapon against her shoulder and waited for the next wave.

* * *

**The Hanging Hunt Plan**

Alex looked through the gap in the ceiling panel and saw the guard from the cage directly below her. He tried the door and found it still locked. Hearing the crash, he looked back down the hall, raising his gun. It was now or never. Alex pointed her tranq gun through the gap and put two in the top of his shoulder. The henchman went straight down.

Alex quickly slid the panel to the side and prepared herself. After a deep breath, she lowered herself with the harness into the hall. As she descended, she realized it wasn't that long of a drop and she probably could have jumped. Why did her boyfriend insist on her playing _Mission Impossible_? Rhetorical question.

From her belly flat position she lifted her chest and kicked her legs, trying to get into a more vertical position. She wobbled as her arms hit the support ropes. Grabbing around the ropes, she was able to pull her legs the rest of the way around so she was in a sitting position, just a little ways off the floor.

Unable to disconnect her harness easily, she swung a couple of times to where she could grab the door knob and hold on. She pulled out her laser pen light and turned it on to burn out the tumblers of the lock. Right as she finished, Alex heard gun fire from the sales floor. The distraction caused her to lose her grip and swing away from the door. Trying desperately to regain her balance, she kicked, hitting the door hard. She also couldn't contain a small yelp.

Behind the door, she heard a familiar voice, "Who's there?"

"Big Mike, I could use a little help."

* * *

**More Pop**

The problem with the home theater room was attackers could exit one of two places. While Sarah now had two automatic weapons, there wasn't a good position to cover both exits while not exposing herself to counter fire.

Sarah moved towards the back of the store, staying low where the aisles could provide her with cover. Once in position, she waited. Unfortunately she picked wrong. Two thugs came out the other exit. She didn't have a good angle on them over the aisles, but suddenly got an idea. She sprayed a line of shots over their heads, where she did have an angle. The shots caused the men to duck. Sarah sprayed another line across the 42" TVs on the wall and this time got the effect. Three of the TVs broke apart and fell to the ground.

Sarah heard one man yell, meaning the TV had landed on him. The other scrambled for cover back in the home theater room.

With the focus on the front entrance, Sarah used the opportunity to rush through the back. Having switched to single shot mode, she fired. She hit the fleeing bad guy, who was now fleeing toward her, with a nonlethal shot to the leg.

The sole remaining bad guy, holding only a handgun, knew he was outmatched. He dropped the gun and raised his hands. "Sales floor clear," Sarah said into her comms.

* * *

**The Wookie Plan**

Big Make cautiously opened the door, revealing himself holding a mop for defense. When he saw Alex swinging, he dropped the mop and steadied her. With the extra support, Alex was able to detach from the harness.

"Alex, what's going on?"

"We're here to rescue you. I'm here with Sarah Walker."

"Sarah called you?"

"And Morgan. He's quarterbacking from Castle. Sarah's taking out most of the bad guys. This one and the one now covering the cage are my job."

They heard another shot, startling Big Mike.

"Come on let's go."

The large man followed her guidance towards the cage without thinking. He was spending all of his brain power trying to understand his new reality.

"Alex, does this mean Jeff and Lester were telling the truth? Are Chuck and Sarah and your dad spies?"

"I wouldn't believe everything those two say, but yes, they are all spies. Retired from government work, now working to do good on their own."

"Oh no. She's out there shooting everyone."

"I think so. She only had a knife, but she's disarmed a couple of the bad guys and has one or two of their guns by now."

Big Mike's eyes were saucers. "I really need to apologize to her. I can't believe what I called her earlier today. I don't want her to kill me."

"Don't worry about it. You're not the only one today. Just have Morgan tell her you're a friend of Chuck's. Now keep quiet. I've got this. Morgan gave me a script."

Alex nudged Big Mike around the corner keeping her gun hidden behind his large frame.

The guard from the back was in front of the cage. He jumped when he saw them, quickly pulling his gun up to point at them. This was the riskiest part of the plan. "Stop right there. Who are you?"

She couldn't believe she was going to say this, but Morgan made her promise. "Prisoner transfer from cell block 1138."

"Huh?"

Ok, maybe this guy deserved to be shot. "Call it in," Alex said.

He didn't bother to check her hands. Big Mike's were empty and raised, and he was the person that looked far more threatening.

"Don't move."

He lowered his gun and lifted his radio. Alex moved.

The first shot hit him in the chest. The second shot never happened. _Oops_. Alex didn't think of reloading after Sarah shot everyone in front of the deli. There must only be eight shots. She hoped one tranq would be enough.

The last bad guy dropped the radio and staggered. He tried to raise his weapon, but never got the chance. Big Mike rushed him and shoved him against the wall. The impact put him out for the count, crumbling to the floor.

With a sigh of relieve, Alex moved to the cage and unlocked it. "Come on. Everybody out!"

Initially, nobody moved. After a moment, a couple of the female green shirts weaved through the group and walked out of the cage.

"What's going on?" Alex asked.

Bunny answered with her normal monotone, "Your dad told everyone who worked here that if they ever looked at you or even acknowledged your existence, they would feel pain."

Alex rolled her eyes and shook her head at her father who wasn't there to chastise. Fortunately, Big Mike stepped up, "Get outta there you bunch of fools and morons!"

Alex checked here comms. She felt some relief hearing Sarah had safely finished off her foes. Morgan had called the police and was heading upstairs with zip ties. The Buy Morons were to be moved into the break room, and the prisoners were being moved to the home theater room.

Alex had one thing in mind. Find her boyfriend. She'd heard post mission sex was fantastic.

* * *

A/N: No, the bad guys never really had a chance. Next up, part 2 is resolved with the post-mission cleanup and Charah. Who cares about the cleanup?


	13. This used to be easier

_Posted 20 Aug 2012_

* * *

_**This used to be easier with an NSA cleaner team.**_

_**How long does it take for a plane to land, for passengers to disembark, and for someone to get a cab to the Buy More? That's how long it's been.**_

* * *

Sarah was bored.

Big Mike had stopped by earlier to apologize and thank her. He fumbled with his words and was actually kind of sweet. She told him not to worry about it and suggested they all get together at a housewarming for Alex. He thanked her again and left to deal with the Buy Morons.

Since then, the adrenaline had worn off, and now she was stuck giving a statement to some LAPD officer. It was more like she was being interrogated.

"Why didn't you call the police?"

"So no one would die."

"Someone did die."

"I didn't shoot him."

"What about the others?"

Sarah shrugged.

"You should have called the police. We would have done everything to make sure that neither hostages nor suspects died. You should have—"

"I should have said so no police would die."

"We're trained for situations like this."

"No. I am."

"It was seven guys!"

"I didn't even have to deal with all of them."

"Right. Your team. Where are they?"

"They're busy. You probably want to give them a few minutes." Sarah smiled.

"We don't need a group of vigilantes thinking that they can take out every group of hooligans that decides to rob an electronics store."

"We call them terrorists, and they weren't robbing the Buy More."

"Then what were they doing?"

"I don't believe you have clearance for that information."

"Look, if you aren't going to cooperate, I'll have to take you to the station."

Sarah just stared at him. CIA paperwork was more exciting than this.

"Did you hear me?"

At that point, she didn't. Her attention was on the front doors where her husband had just walked in. Sarah left the officer at the Nerd Herd desk and hurried to her Chuck.

Chuck's concerned look as he surveyed the scene melted away when their eyes met. Neither was worried about looking dignified when their lips and bodies met at full force. After a few moments, the aggressive kiss softened, and Sarah raised her hands to Chuck's face. A few moments later, they pulled apart and simply held each other tightly.

"Are you ok?" Chuck softly asked.

"Of course I am. I did send you a message saying so when the mission was over. I'm just happy you're home."

"I got to say, I'm _loving_ how clingy you've been lately."

"I don't want to lose any more of what is mine, and you are _mine_."

"No argument here."

Sarah inhaled deeply and was a little disappointed. Chuck smelled like airplanes and hotel soap, not like her Chuck. She'd deal.

Their embrace was interrupted with a throat clearing. They both rotated back to look at their interrupter, but remained linked with arms behind each other's back. It was Sergeant Kingston with the officer that was harassing her before.

"Sorry to disturb you, Agents Carmichael and Walker. I explained to Officer Peters here about your special status, but we still need a few questions answered."

Chuck sighed. "Yes, of course." He slipped his hand down into Sarah's. "Let's go see who you nabbed."

Sarah led Chuck over to the array of bad guys, dead, unconscious, injured and otherwise, lined up against the customer service counter. Chuck looked them over and his eyes bugged out before he shook his head. Sarah recognized the flash.

"Good news, Kingston. Someone will be taking all of this off your hands."

Chuck led them all over to big screen in the home theater room. He weaved his way around some tools the team had been using to try to break in. He found the keyboard wedged between the cushion and arm of the sofa. Sliding to the side a block of C-4 and a drill, he placed it on the coffee table. Sarah settled on the sofa next to him, as close as she could without sitting in his lap. Chuck pressed a few keys, turning on the TV and placing a call. A couple second later, General Beckman was on the screen.

"Chuck, I've been expecting your call."

"You have? I just saw you yesterday, and no, we haven't changed our minds."

"I'm informed whenever anything unusual happens at the Buy More."

"Terrorists infiltrating the Buy More isn't that unusual…" Chuck trailed off with the disapproving look from the general. "Anyway, there's one in this particular group of seven Serbian terrorists that you'll be interested in: Vuc Andric."

"How do you know this, Chuck? Did you…" She deliberately stopped and tilted her head indicating the obvious word, 'flash', leaving it out because of the police listening in.

Sarah realized Beckman must suspect that Chuck downloaded the Intersect. They had decided to keep that information in the 'family.' Only Sarah, Chuck, and Casey knew initially. Chuck let Morgan and Alex know for safety reasons, since they were still living across the courtyard. Holding back that information had backfired too much in the past, and Morgan would have eventually figured it out anyway. They _did not_ want Beckman to find out. She might draft Chuck again. He needed to think quickly.

"No, of course not! He was the guy behind the attempted assassination of General Stanfield—my first mission," Chuck explained.

"Of course. I forgot. He's been busy in Eastern Europe since then, and he's high on Interpol's most wanted list."

Sarah relaxed. Chuck would have recognized him anyway. He probably only flashed on the recent activities or the rest of the team, but Beckman didn't know.

"Please send the reward money quickly. We have a Herder to repair, some TV's and overhead lights to replace, and some other surface damage on a wall to fix up."

The general frowned but agreed, "Ok. Have local PD detain them. We'll send a team to collect and another to help with the cleanup. No reason to scare the natives any more than they already have been." She disconnected abruptly, which seemed familiar to Sarah.

"You heard the general. Take them away and wait for the Feds!" Chuck smiled. "We'll send our statements to the cranky lady with the stars on her shoulders."

Kingston accepted the new situation with a dutiful nod and pulled Officer Peters out of the room. Sometimes it was good to have fans.

Finally alone, Sarah wasted no time scooting across Chuck lap, pulling her legs up on the sofa and putting her arms around his neck.

"Hi." Chuck grinned.

"Hi." Sarah grinned.

She gave him a quick kiss and then settled her head against his shoulder. He rubbed light, lazy circles on her back.

"We should probably head out there to supervise," Chuck suggested

"In a minute." Chuck didn't argue. They both relaxed. After that minute, Sarah softly said into Chuck's neck, "I don't know what's wrong with me."

"What do you mean?"

"I used to really like going on missions. It made me feel like I was doing something good to make up for everything I did with my dad growing up. And I was good at it. But this time… I don't know. Something was missing."

"I wasn't with you."

"Maybe, but I don't remember that. When we were hunting Quinn it was awkward."

"You still wanted to kiss me when we danced," Chuck teased.

"I admit nothing."

"I think the real problem was your heart knew you loved me and but your head didn't remember."

"That was probably it." Sarah gave him a kiss on the neck.

"We had fun when we were on missions together. Well, except when we were fighting."

"We fought? I thought we were the perfect couple."

"Everyone fights. But even when we did, we were good at multitasking, resolving our issues while taking out the bad guys. Our fights were usually silly stuff, like you wanting to elope—"

"I could see that. I'm happy we have a video without an Elvis minister. Morgan was better, somehow fitting. What else did we fight about?"

"You arresting my mother."

"I didn't!"

"Oh yeah you did."

"No wonder she greeted me with a gun."

"That's just her. She's got enough of her own guilt issues that you're the least of her problems. You protect me and make me happy. That's all she really cares about." He kissed her on the head. They settled back into their relaxed embrace, not caring about the mess outside. The Federal agents would check in with them when they arrived.

"Chuck, I'm addicted. How am I going to get to the point I can be away from you more than a day?"

"We'll both get there. I think you are trying to make up for five years of lost memories all at once. That's not possible. You have a lifetime to remember those memories and for us to make new ones. There's no hurry. You used to go away for weeks after we were a couple."

"I can't imagine doing that again."

"You were looking for my mom."

"Was this before or after I arrested her?"

"After. Once to arrest her again. The other time to finish her mission."

Sarah laughed, "No offense, but after twenty years, she needed the help." Chuck agreed.

After a few more moments of snuggling, they were disturbed by another voice clearing. They looked up lazily and saw Alex, who had come through the hidden elevator door. She and Morgan must have finished with their post-mission activities.

"Sorry to interrupt."

"Don't worry about it," Chuck said as he straightened in the sofa. Sarah slid off of her husband and resumed her previous sitting position, plastered against Chuck's side.

"Sarah, you were right," Alex stated.

"I was? About what?"

"You probably don't remember. A few months ago during one of Chuck and Morgan's gaming nights, we got into your Scotch. You told me post mission sex was fantastic. Wow! It's a little faster than normal, but who cares!" Alex's grin was uncontrollable.

Chuck turned his head, bumping his forehead into Sarah's shoulder as he groaned. Sarah laughed.

"You two should take your turn downstairs where the police aren't roaming around. I volunteered Morgan to hold down the fort up here."

Chuck was still bleaching his brain, so Sarah answered. "That would be great. DHS is coming to collect the prisoners and the body."

"They can figure who the guys in black are. First, I wanted to make sure it was ok if I took my dad's X-13 knockout gas to deal with the prisoner and everyone at the deli." Alex held up the spray device.

Sarah answered, "I don't see a problem."

"Ok. I just wanted to make sure, because I don't actually work for Carmichael Industries, and I know what happens to people who try to steal CI's stuff," she joked.

"We should do something about that. Don't you think so, Chuck?"

"Sure," Chuck replied, not certain he knew what he was agreeing to.

"Alex, you did a great job today, and now that the CI is going to be safer, you really should be a part of the family business. That is, if you want."

"Yes I do!" Alex barely let Sarah finish.

Chuck had caught up. "We should have a planning meeting to talk about the new company direction, what with Sarah back, Casey gone, and you joining the team. Tomorrow morning?"

"We'll bring the pastries," Alex offered.

Sarah suggested, "How about we wait until Monday, no Tuesday, at 7:30? Chuck and I are going to be busy this weekend, and I can review the old plan I reportedly came up with on Monday."

"We'll still bring pastries."

"We have a plan. Oh, and we need to have a house warming for you in the next week. Invite Big Mike and Morgan's mom." Alex's eyes widened at the party Sarah had just suggested at her new home. Sarah didn't care, simply jumping up and pulling Chuck behind her. "Excuse us, but I think there's a storage room or closet or something else more comfortable downstairs with our name on it." Chuck followed willing.

In the elevator, it finally occurred to Chuck to ask, "Sarah, Honey, who's the prisoner, and what were you doing at the deli?"

* * *

**The prisoner**

Anna heard the beep of the security panel. She grabbed her chair and lifted it between her and the door. After seeing Sarah stab and shoot those people, Anna had to protect herself. One of those guys looked dead. Morgan's girlfriend shot a couple more. It looked like the police weren't even arresting them.

Alex slowly stepped through the door with a big closed-mouth smile and a penetrating stare. "Calm down. I'm not here to kill you. In fact, I'm going to help you forget this day ever happened. But first, I just really have to tell someone, I really like my new job."

* * *

A/N: That's it for part 2, "Sarah vs the Buy More." Unfortunately, there will be a break in the daily updates for now because of Real Life. Chuck is back, so part 3 will include more Charah, as well as some family time, and the couple trying to figure out their immediate future. There will also be more guest stars, and not all of them will walk away happy.

While you are waiting for me, I have a few things to occupy your time.

My crossover 1-shot story "Beckett vs the Linchpin" takes place during the Tuesday morning meeting that Sarah set up with Alex. It's not required reading. It has its own continuity as the third story in the "Averages Castle/Chuck Crossover Universe," or can be read stand alone. Don't worry. This story will not become a crossover. I just decided to make the stories compatible. It includes more Charah domestic fluff and Team CI in the middle of someone else's mission.

Check out "mynameisjeffnimlost. tumblr com/tagged/CaSvTNA" for screencaps collections for each chapter.

I also have a playlist for the story so far. I'll admit a couple of them are cheesy, but so were Jeffster's songs and Chuck's ringtones. Also, some of the songs would work better with a visual presentation of this story, not a written one.

Chapter 1 – "Rivers and Roads" by The Head and the Heart – why mess with it?

Chapter 2 – "Theme from S.W.A.T." by Rhythm Heritage – even though that show was on ABC

Chapter 3 – "Haven't Met You Yet" by Michael Bublé

Chapter 4 – "Tongue Tied" by Grouplove – before they dance; "3 Rounds and a Sound" by Blind Pilot – their song; "Feeling Good" by Nina Simone – Sarah's favorite

Chapter 5 – "Mr. Sandman" by Puppini Sisters – even though Chuck wasn't really asleep

Chapter 6 – "One Day Like This" by Elbow

Chapter 7 – "Can't Stop Feeling" by Franz Ferdinand – from the "sex tape"; "Bite Hard" by Franz Ferdinand – from Sarah's workout mix

Chapter 8 – "Ain't No Sunshine" by Eva Cassidy – Sarah's depressed and Bill Withers' version has the wrong pronouns

Chapter 9 – "Ships in the Night" by Mat Kearney (feat Ingrid Michaelson)

Chapter 10 – "You Don't Mess around with Jim" by Jim Croce – there needs to be a version of this with Sarah Walker instead of Big Jim Walker.

Chapter 11 – "Go Speed Racer Go" by Ali Dee and The Deekompressors – for the Segway race

Chapter 12 – "Big and Bad" by Big Bad Voodoo Daddy

Chapter 13 – "On Top of the World" by Imagine Dragons – when Chuck walks in and Sarah sees him

Finally, check out the Chuck This! blog (chuckthisblog. wordpress com). They are just a few episodes in to a weekly rewatch of every single Chuck episode. The analysis is insightful, and the comments are filled with lively, but respectful debate. It should be easy to catch up and will be fun to start from the beginning.


End file.
